


Disperse and Align

by snack_size



Series: Aftermath [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Chuck Lives, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-29
Updated: 2013-07-31
Packaged: 2017-12-21 17:09:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/902780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snack_size/pseuds/snack_size
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another escape pod is found near the Breach, shortly after Raleigh and Mako are located, and Chuck is alive, but in critical condition and suffering from radiation poisoning. His indeterminate status makes celebration difficult. Each person attempts to do their best to forge ahead after they've cancelled the apocalypse - and relationships tend to be forged, rather than broken, as there is still plenty for the PPDC to do. </p><p>Tendo takes on Max duty and Raleigh takes on Chuck duty so Herc can focus on his new responsibilities, Hermann waits for the birth of his first child, and Tendo and Newt seize the opportunity to make a move on long-held crushes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Well this is fucking anticlimactic, Chuck thought. He watched helicopters head towards where he presumed Mako and Raleigh were - and away from him.

After all that, he was going to die stuck in an escape pod in the middle of the Pacific Ocean because the flares were swamped, the communications system swamped, everything was fucking swamped.

And he was burning.

 

* * *

  

“Sir,” said Tendo, as everyone in the Shatterdome cheered at the footage of Raleigh and Mako embracing. “We’re picking up another escape pod.”

“Signs of life?” Hansen asked. He leaned forward, and for a moment, the lines in his forehead softened. Tendo felt the same pain in his stomach he had felt when Striker had blown its payload - this wasn’t fair. There was no way anyone could have made it out of that explosion alive. But they were going to have to go through the motions.

“Indeterminate,” Tendo replied. “It appears the signalling system is shot on the pod.”

“Send a helicopter over to investigate,” Hansen replied, and Tendo only met his eyes briefly. He knew what he was thinking - it was exactly what Pentecost would have done before blowing Striker’s payload, especially since he knew he could pilot it by himself for those few moments. Because he knew Chuck was all Herc had. But Striker had been severely damaged at that point, and there were so many things that could have prevented Chuck from making it - oxygen supply, damage from the blast...

No one seemed to hear the two of them - the clock was off, after all, and somehow people seemed to have got a hold of beer, wine, and even some sparkling wine. Tendo pressed his lips together and then looked down at Max. He knew too, poor thing. All Tendo could think of was some cartoon he’d seen when he was a kid, about a dog that waited for an owner who was never going to come back until the dog passed away.

“This is Captain Altmeyer,” came a voice over the comm. “I’m approaching the third escape pod.” Tendo looked over at Hansen. He sort of wanted to hold his hand. “We have visual on a pilot.” It seemed like the pauses between statements were years long. “We’re sending a diver down now to secure rescue apparatus. You should be receiving the feed, sir.”

Tendo followed Hansen’s gaze to the screen then - he hadn’t been able to watch until that moment. He’d just focused on Max instead.

The feed was from the point of view of the helicopter, and wasn’t ideal. The diver jumped and splashed down, swam to the pod, and then climbed on. “Rescue apparatus is secure, sir, Lt. Garcia and pilot are engaged.” Tendo wondered if they’d had training on this - no name, just pilot, don’t ever call it the body or anything similar.

Hansen hadn’t breathed in some time, Tendo could tell, and he was swallowing hard.

“Sir, Ranger Hansen is alive but in need of immediate medical treatment. Patching into medical on your acknowledgement.”

“Proceed back at maximum capacity,” Hansen replied, voice soft. “Land in Bay 2. We’ll have the medical team meet you.”

Then Hansen sort of collapsed, sort of kneeled, and bent over onto the ground. Max jumped on him and slobbered on his face - how did they know? Tendo wondered, and then, because he also felt giddy, he thought, maybe we should get Newt to drift with Max to find out. He seemed to enjoy drifting with somewhat sentient creatures.

Tendo shook his head - back to business. He looked down at Hansen and nodded at him. Tendo patched himself into the medical bay first - they were probably the only ones not at the general celebration, since they were readying themselves for whoever came back in whatever condition. “Choi, checking in that emergency team is prepared to meet and treat Ranger Hansen on arrival.”

“Yes, sir, we’re getting the gear together now,” came the response.

“Prepare to meet in Bay 2,” he said. “Marshall Hansen will meet you there as well.”

“Sir,” was the reply.

Then Tendo looked at Hansen again, and Hansen nodded his approval. Tendo put himself onto the Shatterdome wide communication system. “This is Tendo Choi from Command,” he said. “We received notification of an additional escape pod present in the vicinity of the breach.” He inhaled, and waited for sufficient quiet. “Ranger Hansen is inbound for medical treatment.”

The Shatterdome was quiet for a moment, and then the burst of cheers was nearly as loud as when Hansen had announced their victory. This time, Tendo didn’t look over at Hansen, and he stepped aside, wanting to give him a moment before he rested his hand on Hansen’s shoulder. “Sir, I told them to expect you in Bay Two.”

“Yeah,” Hansen said, and he stood up. “You mind taking Max?”

“Not at all, sir,” Tendo said. Hansen wiped at his eyes, and Tendo sort of had the need to do the same. Hansen walked towards the exit, then turned when he reached it.

“Well, come on,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” Choi replied. He could feel Max’s stumpy tail thumping in his arm.

 

* * *

 

Tendo had seen them bring pilots back in all sorts of conditions, and he cycled through almost all of the possibilities as they waited for Chuck. He was glad to see Dr. Lauritsen was heading the response team - she was probably the best they had. She glanced over at the dog, then at Herc, then arched an eyebrow.

The approach of the helicopter ratcheted up the tension in the room and made it palpable. Tendo was relieved when he finally was pressed against the wall by the force of the blades as they entered the bay, and he shielded his eyes to try and get a good look at what was going on.

He wasn’t really able to hear over the helicopter powering down. He couldn’t really see Chuck because he was completely covered by one of their radiation safe bags - Tendo had spent most of his career with the older models, and he remembered those drills with a shudder. No one had ever wanted to be the body.

Max started to bark and wiggled to get towards the gurney that Chuck was on - and thankfully Hansen appeared at his side and began to mutter something to the calm the dog slightly.

“Hey, hey,” Tendo added. “Let the doctor do her work.” Max wiggled against him. Fuck, Tendo thought, what if they got Chuck back but they couldn’t save him?

Herc walked over to the gurney and looked down at the sheer window where Chuck’s face was. He bent down, and kissed Chuck where his forehead would be. Tendo felt his throat constrict. He looked away, not wanting Hansen to think he saw. Hansen grasped the top railing of the gurney and began to push along with the others.

The helicopter paramedic followed the doctors and nurses as they rolled Chuck out of the room but stopped at the door. He ran his fingers through his hair. Tendo held his gaze on him, and finally the paramedic met his eye. “Tendo Choi,” he said, as the paramedic walked over.

“I figured,” the paramedic replied. His English accent was one of the ones that Pentecost would have called posh. “Rob Harcourt.” Tendo reached his hand out, but Rob just held his up. Tendo drew back, slightly, seeing the blood. “He’s in rough shape, but he’ll make it. Ribs are fractured to hell, probably gonna need to go in and look for internal bleeding. Radiation burns because the shield on the pod went to shit.”

“But he’ll make it.”

“Kid like that, yeah,” said Harcourt. “Might not get in a Jaeger again.”

“Well,” Tendo said, since that was the expected response, by now. “That’s not so much a concern.”

“Ha,” said Harcourt. “Yeah.” He laughed, then, his relief delayed.

This Tendo’s comm link beeped, and it was Hansen. “Mori and Becket are coming in Bay 3,” he said. “Greet them and take them to medical.”

“Sir,” he replied. “Max?”

“Bring him,” Hansen said. Tendo shrugged. Hansen was in charge.

 

* * *

 

“He’s really out?” Raleigh asked. He finally agreed to lay down on a gurney after Mako had just smiled, nodded, and complied with the nurse when she asked her. Tendo was relieved. He’d been trying to help another nurse get Raleigh onto the gurney, but Raleigh was practically bouncing. This concerned Tendo. He knew how Raleigh got, how he could crash - and that was before.

“Saw him, didn’t we?” Tendo said to Max, and he was pretty sure that adrenaline and whatever the fuck else pumps through you after you save the world was responsible for his growing affection and identification with Max. Especially after only ten minutes. The dog thumped his tail.

He walked over to Mako and took her hand. “He’s going to make it.” Her eyes puddled with tears, and she gave him one of her smiles. Tendo nodded at the nurse, shortened up Max’s leash, and followed the two stretchers into medical.

Raleigh started to grumble again as soon as they had his gurney in the examination bay and doctors began to head towards him. “I am fine, really, look-”

“Let them look at you.” Mako sat up and rolled her eyes at Tendo. He smiled back. It wasn’t the first time he thought thank goodness for Mako - she somehow managed to ground so many different people when they decided it was time for a bit of protest, or tantrum, or whatever. “How is Chuck?”

“The paramedic in the helicopter said he’s got a lot of fractured ribs, maybe some internal bleeding, radiation burns, probably radiation poisoning-” Mako flinched when Tendo mentioned this, but she would have been mad at him if he had tried to keep it from her. She and Chuck had basically grown up together, even if they weren’t exactly friends most of the time.

“How - the suits are made to withstand that, now,” Raleigh said, as a nurse attached nodes to his chest.

“From the Jaegers,” Tendo said.

“Not from a bomb,” Mako added. She held her arm out so a blood pressure cuff could be attached.

Max had been circling Tendo the entire time, but then he must have caught a whiff of Chuck - he barked, his stump wagging, and ran right for the door separating the two treatment areas. He jumped at it, pawing hard, and turned and looked back at Tendo with expectation.

“Uh,” Tendo said.

One of the nurses hit a communication panel on the wall. “Dr. Lauritsen, can the dog enter?”

“He’s still bagged and stable,” was the reply, in Lauritsen’s crisp and precise English - she never pulled punches. “Perhaps the others would like to see him before surgery?”

Raleigh bounced out of the bed, while Mako was more careful, even smoothing the sheet over and smiling politely at the nurse as she stood. Tendo looked away when he felt her watching him - but that was the quality he liked about her best, how sweet she was while still being fierce as hell.

Raleigh walked in first, followed by Max, who nearly got tangled up in his legs before Raleigh scooped the dog up. Tendo still held the leash, not wanting to be responsible if the dog broke something - or someone. Mako came in behind them and gave a rare, wide smile to Hansen. He was in the corner, looking dazed and a little gelatinous. Tendo negotiated so that he was at Hansen’s side.

Chuck was half upright on the gurney, still wrapped up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Tendo glanced over at Lauritsen, who just nodded. None of them needed the monologue, they knew the precarious position they were in - surgery to correct internal bleeding was going to be extremely complicated with Chuck’s white blood cell counts lowered and aplastic anemia settling in.

“Aw, hey, buddy,” Chuck said to Max. The dog was desperately squirming, trying to get closer to him, but Raleigh held him tight. “Raleigh,” he said, the same obnoxious way he had first pronounced it. “Mako, Tendo. Gang’s all here. Except for Newt. Did he fry his brain?” Tendo shook his head slightly, though Hansen smiled slightly. This was a typical Chuck Hansen attempt at levity.

“Dr. Geiszler is sedated,” Dr. Lauritsen said.

“Christ, you guys finally figured that one out,” Chuck said, and rolled his eyes. The room was silent for awhile, then he just said. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Raleigh replied.

“We need to start surgery,” Dr. Lauritsen said. “I am sorry I can’t let the dog kiss you, Chuck.” Tendo pressed his lips together - no one was ever really that blunt and upfront with Chuck when they were denying him something.

Hansen leaned in and put his hand over where Chuck’s was under the bag. “We’ll see you on the other end.”

“I feel like I just did this,” Chuck said.

“But with less optimism,” Mako added, then looked slightly terrified that she had said it out loud. Raleigh laughed, though, and then Tendo laughed. Hansen just looked down, then at Chuck, and he nodded.

“If you don’t mind,” Lauritsen said. “Marshall, I’ll give you a moment.”

They exited, and Raleigh passed Max over to Tendo, who hugged the dog tight and accepted the slobbering kisses he hadn’t been able to bestow on his other owner.

Then Hansen came out, white and dazed. “Fuck me,” Hansen said, as if he didn’t deserve it.


	2. Chapter 2

Kuliken, one of the Russian techs, found him when Raleigh and Mako were taken back for further tests. Tendo was alone in the hallway with Max, not entirely sure where to go. “Sir,” she said, and she looked hard and worn from mourning, then celebrating. “Kaidanovsky’s wanted you to have this.”

Tendo felt awkward accepting the box. He could not imagine what Aleksis and Sasha would have wanted him to have in the event of their deaths. He had mostly been afraid of them. But then, everyone had, in their own way. Well, except for Pentecost. Though Tendo wasn’t quite sure on that one. Stacker would take that to his grave.

He smiled, though, when he opened it and found a large bottle of Russian vodka that had only just been taken out of a freezer. There was a small card on top of it, written in Cyrillic. “Sorry,” he said, handing it back to Kuliken. “I don’t-”

“It says, in case of not apocolypse. Sort of.” She smiled, slightly, and then looked down. “We have our own.” She looked down at Max and pressed her lips together, then gently pat his head.

Of course they would have known, better than anyone else, that they weren’t coming back from the Breach. The fact that they got anyone back is a damn miracle, Tendo thought. And he could definitely do with some cold vodka.

“It is very good vodka,” Kuliken said. Her eyes were moist. He nodded at her, and she nodded back and then walked down the hallway.

Tendo walked back towards medical. Raleigh and Mako were both asleep, and Herc Hansen was not where he left him. Tendo hoped he wasn’t watching the operating theater. Herc had had enough of that for one day.

“There you are,” he said to Herc, when he poked his head into Newton’s room and found Hansen sitting next to Hermann. Max barked. He had always liked Newt.

Tendo had just wanted to see if Newt had awoken from the klonopin they poured into him after he and Hermann had told them all what they had found in the mind of the baby kaiju - and the fuck was up with that? Tendo wondered. No one had really said much about the baby kaiju birth, and really, it was worth mentioning.

“Hey, Tendo,” Newt said. He was holding some sterile cloth to his nose and frowning as blood came out.

“Don’t act surprised, man, what did you fucking expect?” Tendo asked. Hermann rolled his eyes. Tendo pulled a chair up and scooted Max into his lap. The dog sighed.

“Please tell me you are holding a bottle of booze,” Herc said. Tendo held the bottle up. “спасибо (Spasebo).” Thank you in Russian.

“There wasn’t one of those for me?” Newt asked, looking a little hurt. He’d been the only person dumb enough to flirt with Sasha - Tendo had always figured he did it for the same reasons he did most everything else, to see what would happen. Newton Geiszler was powered by shear scientific id.

“Kuliken didn’t mention one,” Tendo said, and smiled as Hermann went over to the supply cabinet and pulled out some of the plastic cups they handed out so you could swallow your medicine.

“These should do,” he said.

“She’d keep it for herself, that saucy Siberian fox,” Newt said. Max was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, and Tendo stroked his head and ears. Little guy deserved a nap.

“You couldn’t enjoy it anyway,” Hansen said. “Amount of benzoes they pumped into you.”

“I think that was largely retaliatory,” Newt said.

“Newton, your hands were shaking at different speeds - and I believe you were speaking in tongues.” Hermann said.

Tendo opened the bottle and poured three hefty, cold shots. “Certainly wasn’t English,” he said. “I’ll make sure to save you some.” Newton sighed, then glanced at the I.V. pole in his arm.

“I am holding you to that, man,” he said.

They tapped their plastic cups together and then swallowed two shots in rapid succession. Tendo felt a little bit more alive. He could hear the celebrations around them, and part of him was a little bit mad, because he was supposed to be down there. He had been here since the beginning - for Yeye, and then for Yancy, and for everyone else. “Sorry,” he said, catching Hermann’s eye.

“For what?” Hermann asked. “While not a classic anticlimax, one cannot help but feel the same sort of emotions, or the sense that this pathos has not yet been completely exercised-”

“You know,” said Herc, “I bet she’d go for you.” Tendo was relieved. He liked Hermann, he really did. But he was about to start quantifying things, and Tendo did not have the head for that.

“What?” Tendo asked, to help the diversion along.

“Kuliken - Natalya, right?”

“What? Yes,” said Newt. “I mean, no, no. Me?”

“You’re a hero,” Herc said, and Tendo smiled at Herc. “Saved the world. Couldn’t have done it without you. That’s worth something.” Newt eyed Herc suspiciously - but Tendo could see what he was thinking. If anyone knew, Herc knew. Every woman in the Shatterdome, and some of the men, talked about wanting to jump Herc.

“You’re setting me up,” Newt said, eyes still narrowed.

“For what?” They all turned to see Raleigh and Mako in the doorway. Raleigh’s posture was a little straighter, Tendo gave him a slight smile.

“Vodka.” Mako said, nodding at the bottle.

“From Sasha and Aleksis,” Hermann replied, and he grabbed two more small cups and poured out five shots.

“Setting you up for what?” Raleigh asked again, after they drank.

“The engineer who brought the vodka,” Herc said. “Newt fancies here. Thinks she’s a fox.”

“She is a fox,” Newt replied, completely serious. In his sleep, Max sighed. Tendo didn’t want to think what he was dreaming about. “A rare Siberian flower. Her eyes are as blue as Lake Baikal.”

“Are you sure they just pumped him full of klonopin?” Tendo asked, but he was ignored.

“So I said, you know, you save the world. Gotta be worth something,” Herc explained.

Raleigh nodded, completely serious, and Tendo wondered if it was OK for them to be giving the two of them alcohol - usually pilots were given a mild sedative when they came back, even without injuries. “You need to do it while you can,” he said. “You’re only a hero for so long - you’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t take advantage of it.”

He met Tendo’s eyes, and Tendo looked down - the Becket boys, he thought. _They heat up the Icebox!_  was one tabloid headline, and there was a poll over who was the more attractive one, another who had the better abs. Tendo wondered if Raleigh had done it for Yancy. No one would have cared if he had stated his preference - well, a lot of women would have been disappointed, but that was different.

“You don’t have to stay here, do you?” Raleigh asked Newt, leaning in the doorway.

“Don’t think so,” Newt said, tugging the I.V. from his arm and smiling.

“Let’s go find those Russians,” Raleigh said. Herc nodded, and Tendo smiled - Raleigh had always been good with figuring out what people needed.

Tendo walked next to Mako as they headed for the space where Cherno used to be lodged. Max walked alongside of him, cautious - Tendo hoped the dog couldn’t sense something. Someone had told him they knew when people died.

Mako’s look was somber and far away. “He was a good man,” Tendo said. What else could you say? It sounded trite, talking about Pentecost. Really, he saved all of us, Tendo thought, but saying that out loud would cheapen it.

“Yes,” Mako said, and she smiled slightly. “He made me a good woman.” She paused, for a moment, before inhaling. Tendo almost moved instinctively, after all, he and Mako had been plenty affectionate before. It held more gravity now, though. Or maybe he just wanted it to. Then he remembered Herc’s words, and he reached over and draped his arm around her shoulder. She smiled and nodded at him, and they walked towards Cherno’s bay.

* * *

 

Raleigh wished he had got to know the Russians better - he’d met them twice, after duel battles in the cold Arctic water, but their English hadn’t been very good back then. And coming back, they had been so solid and together and it just reminded him of...he sighed.

The atmosphere down in the Bay was what he needed, though - something to take his mind off things. To give him a moment or two where he could feel like things were OK.

He certainly didn’t begrudge the celebrations occurring elsewhere. He just couldn’t help but feel empty. He glanced over at Mako and she smiled. No one else would have been able to take him - them, he was sure. He and Yancy, or the ghost of Yancy, or whatever Yancy was now.

He put a smile on when one of the Russian techs waved them over. The Crimson Typhoon team was there as well, mingling and talking in the English they had in common between them. “Where is she?” he asked Newt.

“Over talking to Liang,” Newt said, and he nodded in the direction of a man and woman using a steel girder as a bench.

“She is a fox,” Raleigh said - dark black hair, dark blue eyes with long lashes, full lips.

People were walking over to congratulate them, to tell Herc how glad they were about Chuck and ask how he was. Tendo started to run point on that - God bless Tendo, Raleigh thought - and someone handed Herc a beer with a Chinese label. If Tendo couldn’t deflect them, Max took up the mantle - he wagged his stumpy tail vigorously at anyone who tried to get past the basic platitudes, and, feeling bad for the dog, they would pet him.

“Come on,” Raleigh said to Newt. Setting him up - this was an excellent distraction. Besides, the little guy - not really, Raleigh corrected himself, Geiszler was older than him - had stuck himself out there just as much as they had. More, maybe. He should definitely get laid for his efforts.

Raleigh smiled when the engineer - Herc had said her name, but it had got lost in his post-Drift mush brain - sat up and walked over to them.

“Newt,” she said, and Raleigh’s smile broadened when he noticed the intricate tattooed sleeves she had, all black ink, likely some sort of traditional art. What was Newt even worried about? “You are all right? I cannot believe you did that.”

“Yeah,” Newt said. “Oh, some nose bleeds - real sexy - but that’s the worst of it.” Raleigh resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What was it with geniuses? “Thanks, Natalya.”

“Oh please,” she said. “Talya.” Raleigh elbowed him lightly in the side and Newt startled. “And Ranger-”

“Raleigh,” he said. She reached out a hand and he shook it.

“Talya,” she said. “You would like beer? Vodka? There is some champagne somewhere but I think they are saving it.” She glanced down, and Raleigh nodded. Mission wasn’t complete yet.

He sat and talked with the Chinese engineer, Liang, for a bit so that Newt could get closer to Talya. She seemed legitimately interested. Good, Raleigh thought, but he’d always been good at this kind of thing. Yancy would always drape an arm around him, smack him on his shoulder. Best and only wingman I could ever need, Raleigh.

Eventually Liang went over to another group of friends, and Raleigh lightly pat Newt on the back before heading back over to Tendo, Hermann, Mako, and Herc. And Max.

“Don’t know what he was worried about,” he said, nodding in the couple’s direction. Talya was putting some of her hair behind her ear and smiling at Newt, leaning her body in towards him.

“He has been engaged in flirtations with her since we got to Hong Kong,” Hermann said, shaking his head. “Well, Newton’s attempt at flirtations, which are just as haphazard as his laboratory procedures.”

“He went googly eyed over her the moment they met,” Tendo said, and shook his head.

Raleigh just let it all wash over him. He knew that he spoke, he joked, he contributed a story or two. But it was just a part of him, and he had learned to live like this, the last five years - broken and compartmentalized. Raleigh caught Mako’s eyes at one point and shrugged. This was new, and strange, though, having another person who knew and who understood.

He wondered if he and Yancy would have made it through all of the kaiju attacks in 2023 and 2024, if they would have made it here together with Gipsy Danger. He felt his throat tighten a little - he didn’t want to do this, not here. Just as he was about to stand and walk away, Tendo grabbed the arm of his shirt and gestured over to Herc, who was on his phone.

“OK, right. Be right up.” He closed the phone and nodded at them. “He’s out,” he said. “Gonna be awake in ten.”

Raleigh looked over at Newt and caught his eye. He looked a little...sloppy, but it seemed to be helping him rather than hindering him. He mouthed _out_  and Newt nodded. “I will stay here with Newton,” Hermann said, and Raleigh startled because he didn’t realize that Hermann had moved behind him. He was usually a lot better at knowing when people were approaching him. “We do not need to crowd Chuck in this moment.”

“Thanks,” Raleigh said. Tendo, Mako, and Herc were already walking with Max. “I’ll let you know, yeah?”

“Very good,” said Hermann. He reached, tentative, and Raleigh leaned into it. He barely knew the man and yet he felt like they had been friends for a long time. Hermann pat him on the shoulder and nodded.

“He’s in the sterile room,” said the nurse, when they reached the medical bay. “We’ll have Marshall Hansen go in first, and then you can proceed to the viewing area.” They nodded, and Herc followed the nurse to get scrubbed down and suited up. Chuck’s immune system was knocked out by the radiation and the burns made him prone to infection.

Raleigh looked over at the others, then reached down and pet Max. The dog was nervous, and whining slightly. Raleigh took careful, deep breaths. He could only think of when he woke up in the hospital in Seattle. He had completely missed his stint in the Anchorage ER and ICU. When he woke, he had been terrified, sweating, and hooked up to monitors that screamed at them when he moved. He had been vivisected, too, and he could feel the parts that had been taken out acutely. He knew everything was wrong, that Yancy was dead but he wasn’t gone because he was still in his fucking head and that Raleigh's body was bruised and broken.

He pulled himself back to the present when he felt Mako’s hand graze his own. He took it and squeezed. She likely knew where he had gone off too - she had seen it, when they drifted, not like he had seen Onibaba but she had been there in the bed with him.

When he stood up he saw Tendo watching both of them, and he resisted the urge to smile. Looked like Tendo had a crush as well - and this made things easier. He wasn’t going to let just anyone ask out his new co-pilot. This was also another project, another thing that he could do with ease. At the Jaeger Academy they told him he had incredibly high emotional intelligence. Yancy had, of course, laughed at him and called him a girl.

It was strange, how he seemed to be toggling between real life and whatever it was in his head. He hadn’t been as good at it when he was running from the kaiju, the Jaegers, the PPDC.

Mako released his hand when the door opened the doctor stepped out - there were flecks of Chuck still on her scrubs. “Have you met Dr. Lauritsen?” Tendo asked. Max bombarded the doctor almost immediately, sniffing her and looking at her with suspicion. She leaned down and pat him as she spoke.

Raleigh zoned out again, because fuck, he knew why she had seemed familiar when he saw her the first time. Yancy had tried to hit on her at some PPDC event. They’d been honoring the Rangers and some other distinguished corps members. The memory hit Raleigh immediately, and suddenly he was seeing her through Yancy’s eyes over six years ago, in a navy dress with a very deep back that emphasized the muscles in her shoulders. She was holding a champagne flute and had turned back and smiled at Yancy. It had been out of admiration, though. Later, at the bar, her hand briefly clasped over his. I’m involved, she said, but are very charming, Yancy Becket.

He felt nauseous, and this time Mako’s hand squeezed a little tighter. “Sorry,” he said. The doctor had been talking the entire time.

“It’s all right...” Lauritsen said, and didn’t meet his eye - she had to have known. “Ran - Chuck is in critical condition, but he will-”

“He’s too much of a punk not to pull through,” Tendo said. Dr. Lauritsen smiled a bit at this, and picked up Max and handed him back to Tendo.

“There was significant internal bleeding - I took the spleen and repaired the liver and kidney. The radiation effects have begun to materialize - skin damage, and the first stage of acute poisoning. He’s in aplastic anemia and was during the surgery. We had to put a lot of blood in him. Infection will be the biggest concern.”

“Do you know how much of a hit he took?” Raleigh asked. He was going through it in his head - no mention of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, the symptoms that meant that the exposure level was toxic. He’d had all of this drilled into him before they even let him step in Gipsy.

Lauritsen shook her head. “Too many factors to calculate - the underwater blast combined with not knowing how much shielding he got from the escape pod, the suit. How long between when he was ejected and when Marshal Pentecost blew the payload - They upgraded the suit when they knew Striker would take the payload, but... I want to say somewhere between two to six GL.”

They all nodded - they all wanted to say this. Five to fifty percent mortality with treatment. “We’re the best equipped medical center in Hong Kong to deal with this,” she added.

“Dr. Lauritsen-” Tendo began.

“Signe,” she said. “We will be seeing a lot of each other, I think.” She put her hands in the pockets of her scrubs. “I have treated a lot worse.” Raleigh wasn’t sure if that was supposed to make them feel better or was just a statement of fact.

Before they could ponder this, the door to the recovery room opened. “You can come in for a moment,” a nurse said. They stepped into a corridor where there was a viewing window and communication device linked to the sterile, high oxygen room Chuck was in.

The room was small, and looked even more cramped with Herc sitting alongside Chuck, covered head to toe in a barrier of plastic. Raleigh couldn’t help but immediately think giant condom, even though it was incredibly inappropriate.

Chuck glanced over at him - his skin was beginning to redden and blister all over, and he still managed to look grey and pale. His eyes were wide. When they’d first seen him, Raleigh had recognized him from the set of his jaw and his expression. But now he just looked like a scared kid.

He was, Raleigh realized, the age Raleigh had been when Yancy died. He was just a kid.

“Hey,” Tendo said, and he held Max up to the glass. Max pressed his paw to it and Mako made a soft, sweet sound that helped to ground Raleigh.

“You take good care of him,” Chuck murmured. “He’s a good dog.”

“I know,” Tendo said.

“Hello, Chuck,” Mako said. “Are you comfortable?”

He nodded, though he looked over at Herc for the answer. “Got some good drugs,” Herc said, muffled by his suit.

“That’s good,” Raleigh said. Chuck met his eyes, and he kind of smiled and sighed.

They were all silent for a moment, except for the small whines that Max made. “I didn’t not know who you were,” Chuck muttered, and it took Raleigh a moment to realize he was directing it towards him.

“Oh,” he said.

“I mean, I knew who you were.” Chuck sighed. “Not just that you were washed up. I watched...”

“I don’t think I should be here,” Raleigh said. “He’s admitting things coming out of anaesthetic and on painkillers-” He felt himself flush.

“Naw,” said Herc. “Little shit deserves it.” Raleigh looked to Mako for help, but she just shrugged. A little tipsy on vodka and adrenaline, presumably. “They were your favorites, weren’t they.”

“No, dad,” Chuck said, a little exacerbated. “Striker is.”

“Yeah,” Herc said, and Raleigh glanced at Mako, glad she agreed it was time to make their exit.

“We’ll come back and see you later, Chuck,” Raleigh said.

“OK,” Chuck replied, and he closed his eyes.

When they left, the hall was empty. Max struggled a bit against Tendo. “I’m gonna be the one stuck with this guy, aren’t I?” he asked.

“I don’t dog,” Raleigh replied, and Mako smiled at this. She reached forward and stroked Max’s head as he wriggled in Tendo’s arms, no doubt planning his epic escape and reunion with Chuck.

“I will help,” Mako said. “I remember when he was small. All wrinkles.” She smiled slightly again, then sighed. Raleigh resisted the urge to sigh as well - he hadn’t realized Mako and Chuck had known each other as kids, but of course they had.

* * *

The next day, there was a single memorial service for the fallen Jaeger pilots. Raleigh was relieved. He knew he would barely be able to handle one, let alone a procession of them. He only went for Mako - to hold her hand.

They had one like this for Yancy, he thought as an engineer spoke about the Wei Tangs. Everyone would have gone somewhere, or sat down in the Shatterdome like they were doing now. Pictures of Yancy would have been projected on the wall.

“He would not have liked this either,” Mako said, at the end. She dabbed her eyes with her handerchief. “But he would understand it is important. Ritual is important.”

“Especially since he was the man who helped come up with Kwoon combat,” Raleigh replied. Mako nodded.

“There is much work to be done,” she said. “We had a small idea of what we do if we succeeded and now we will implement that.”

“We?” Raleigh asked.

Mako glanced up at him, almost curious. “Well,” she said, and she knew too much to make the comment about construction, and she knew enough to make the comment about construction. “We would like your help.”

“Whatever I can give,” he said. He smiled, slightly - it wasn’t much. She nodded her head and then walked over to Herc, who had just stood and looked a little aimless. Raleigh hadn’t seen him since they had left Chuck’s room - well, his viewing area.

Herc embraced Mako in a hug, and she was completely taken aback for a moment before she returned it, carefully patting Herc on the back. He said something into her ear, and Raleigh didn’t need to be drifting with her to know what it was about. Instead, he glanced off to the side and walked over to Tendo, giving the two of them their moment.

Max was currently being seen to by some members of the Australian crew, and Tendo looked relieved. “Did you know dogs cry?” he said.

“No,” Raleigh replied. He couldn’t even imagine - he was incredibly relieved he hadn’t been charged with the dog. Mako told him that Chuck had had Max since he was a puppy and that the only time they’d ever really spent apart was when Chuck was in a Jaeger. “Look, I can take him-”

“Might be better for him if he stays with the same person,” Tendo said. He looked over at Max, waddling around the Aussies, and nodded.

Raleigh looked over at the pictures that were still on the large screen at the other end of the room. He wanted to be optimistic, but now that he’d been able to sit down somewhere quiet, he knew what they were looking at with Chuck. They very well could be back here in four, five weeks. “Hey,” he said. “You hear from Geiszler?”

“She’s over there,” Tendo said, and he nodded towards Talya, huddled next to another one of the Russian engineers and sipping from a flask. “I’m pretty sure Newt is experiencing one hell of a hangover right now.”

“Tell me about it,” Raleigh said.

“No, I mean, Newt would never miss something like this,” Tendo said, and Raleigh was acutely reminded of how he and Tendo weren’t coming from the same frame of reference - it had been easy to slip back into a rhythm with his old friend, but...five years was five years. Raleigh had been living for rations building a wall that some dumbasses thought would save the world while Tendo had been actually trying to save the world.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “Well, after you first Drift...and that’s with another person.” He almost asked if someone checked on them - but of course someone had. They were the whole scientific research team. For now. Raleigh had a feeling, now that kaiju and breach studies weren’t nearly as lethal, they would be getting some more geniuses knocking on the Shatterdome doors. “Herc’s gonna have a lot on his plate, it seems. You all are.”

“Yeah, well,” Tendo said. “one night, we all got drunk on some Russian vodka - not nearly as good as yesterday’s - and someone pointed out that we were going to need a plan for after we closed the breach. We had a good laugh, then figured we’d focus on figuring out how to reverse engineer kaiju bits and studying future implications of the drift tech.” He shrugged his shoulders, as if neither were any big thing.

“Huh,” Raleigh said, and it made sense why Mako had been reluctant to get into it with him. She knew what happened in Seattle, how they had acted like the tests they wanted to do were in the interest of his mental health. They just wanted to know how he had managed to pilot Gipsy Danger - not that he blamed them, at least for the curiosity. Their timing was what was shit, and that was what had finally made Raleigh decide to run. If the researchers hadn’t come, he might have lasted a few more weeks. He would have made it until someone tried to get him to run a Jaeger simulation.

“You don’t have...we have patents on all the Drift technology. Lots of people are going to be interested in it.”

“In making money off of it,” Raleigh replied.

Tendo grimaced. “Saving the world costs money. Plus we have to keep Newt in Kaiju parts.” Raleigh cocked his head.

“Just pull the plug when he decides he wants one of those baby kaijus for himself,” Raleigh replied.

“You know, no one has talked too much about that,” Tendo said. “But I feel like we should talk about that.”

“Like make jokes about knowing why the Otachi was so pissed?” Raleigh said. Tendo shook his head and inhaled. “But, seriously, I was going somewhere with the...you guys, all being pretty busy,” Raleigh said. He swallowed - he wasn’t sure if this was the right thing. Well, the right thing for him.

“I told you, man, I’ve got the dog,” Tendo said.

“I meant Chuck,” Raleigh replied. “It sucks sitting by yourself in a hospital bed.”

“Hey,” Tendo said, and Raleigh felt bad, “I wanted to come see you - but you wouldn’t let-”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Raleigh said, and he reached over at put a hand on Tendo’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean it like that, I...just an observation. Based on...experience.”

“Doesn’t Chuck still hate you?” Tendo asked.

“I didn’t have time to really check in between everything,” Raleigh said. “Apparently he really liked Gipsy-”

“Had a poster on his wall,” Herc said, from behind them.

“Right,” Raleigh said. He turned and met Herc’s eyes. He could begin to see where Chuck’s animosity had come from - not only was Raleigh a Jaeger pilot, a Ranger, who had let the corps down, but he had let down sixteen year-old Chuck Hansen as well.

“I would appreciate it, if you sat with him,” Herc said, and Raleigh nodded. “Kind of a gambit though - may be more, or less, of a pain in the ass.”

“Eh,” Raleigh said. He’d dealt with a lot worse than Chuck Hansen.

* * *

 

“How is he doing?” Raleigh asked Dr. Lauritsen. She was just coming out of the sterile room as Raleigh came out of the decontamination shower and he was wrapping a towel around his waist. The white suit, with just its eye visor, emphasized the fact that she was looking at him very carefully. He supposed he was going to have to get used it - hell, more guys might have looked at him like that in Alaska, if they weren’t afraid of getting their asses kicked. Then he realized that it was more likely, as a doctor, she was focused on his scars.

“Best news is that he’s not showing signs of exposure over 6 GLs,” she said.

“Doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods,” Raleigh said. She shook her head.

“He’s mostly sleeping, which is good. CNS is impaired, but that should resolve.” Raleigh nodded. “Like I said, we’re most worried about infections given the condition of his skin, the surgery, the fact we can’t keep white blood cells in him.” She paused. “There’s a tv in there and a tablet.”

“Thanks,” Raleigh said. She walked out as he pulled on a fresh pair of scrubs and then the sterile suit. He double and triple checked that he was completely sealed in - he certainly wasn’t going to be the asshole that dragged in some bacteria that ended up killing Chuck Hansen.

Chuck opened his eyes when he walked in. “Told you that you didn’t need to come back,” he said. It sounded like he had swallowed a bunch of gravel. Raleigh went over to the fridge in the room and pulled out a bottle of water and cup, and set them on the bedside table. He adjusted the bed to make Chuck a bit more upright. Chuck grimaced.

“Don’t think you told me,” Raleigh said, finally.

Chuck did not look good - and, as Raleigh checked him over, he realized he was naked under the sheet that came up to his naval. Raleigh glanced away.

He didn’t need to study him, really. The texture of the first layer of the drive suit was burnt onto him in some places, in other places he was covered in oozing blisters, still others had mottled red skin with smaller blisters. They’d put a central line into his chest and several bags of fluid were feeding into a single tube. His abdomen was wrapped up from his surgery, but blood and fluid were leaking through.

He was, pretty much, a real fucking mess.

“You?” Chuck asked, and he looked confused. Raleigh held the straw to his mouth, and he sipped. Raleigh was surprised his accepted it. “Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “I know how much it sucks, being in a hospital by yourself.” More so for Chuck, Raleigh figured. He’d grown up surrounded by the bustle of the Shatterdome and the Jaeger Academy, and he’d spent an awful lot of time in the drift recently.

“Haven’t been here too long,” Chuck said. “So I can’t really tell.”

“Almost two days,” Raleigh said. No point babying him - Raleigh remembered some of the doctors and nurses who had done that to him and how he wanted to punch them.

“No,” Chuck said. “Fuck.” He seemed to regain some coherence.. “How many GLs?”

“Lauritsen is pretty sure it’s 2-6, at this point,” Raleigh said.

“Everything else in that pod was shit,” he said. “But not the engineers fault.”

“No,” Raleigh said. They were silent for a good minute.

“You just gonna sit here and stare at me?”

“We can watch TV,” Raleigh said. Chuck snorted. “Do you watch TV?”

“Not too much time, when you’re training. Killing kaiju.”

“Right,” Raleigh said, and he turned the TV on. He smiled when he saw someone had loaded Netflix up for him. “You want comedy, drama..?” Chuck shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll start with one of my picks, then.”

“You have time for TV?”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. He’d piloted during the golden age - attacks that threatened their territory happened every two months. They’d had leave time. And even with conditions being shit up at the Wall, he’d had an occasional roommate with a tablet, a jerry-rigged computer.

Raleigh went with comedy - it only required a twenty-two minute attention span.

He tried not to, but he was back to his room - his and Yancy’s room - at the Alaska Shatterdome, the two of them arguing about what they were going to watch when they were on-call. Yancy liked dramas better, especially shows where you had to watch each episode in order. He didn’t want to invest, otherwise. Raleigh definitely didn’t have that kind of attention span - too much to do, too much going on.

“You OK?” Chuck asked.

“Yeah, just...yeah,” Raleigh said, and he clicked on the first episode and leaned back in his chair. “You should drink that water.”

Chuck nodded. “Makes me feel sick.”

Raleigh sighed. Definitely not the best thing to hear - Chuck should be pulling out of the nausea phase, though, really, who the fuck knew? Plus surgery had probably complicated things. Raleigh knew he shouldn’t analyze it. He wasn’t a doctor, he’d just watched a training reel.


	3. Chapter 3

They get through the whole TV series in three days without saying much to each other. Herc came in the evening to relieve Raleigh, though they didn’t talk about this either. Instead they exchanged somber, steel looks as Raleigh stripped out of his suit and Herc put his on - Chuck’s skin now had huge ulcers, and blisters were widening and bursting. Some were infected and they were pumping all sorts of things into him to keep it to his skin.

It definitely helped that Chuck was high as balls on morphine.

But morphine couldn’t manage all of it. Raleigh stayed even as Chuck screamed through the skin treatments. He averted his eyes when the sheets were removed. The kid - and he was certain, now, even with three largely non-verbal days with Chuck Hansen that he was definitely a kid - had never really been sick or injured before. Always the paragon of physical perfection. A PPDC Ranger. Not that it mattered, because anyone would have been in agony, getting sloughed in cream after getting scrubbed raw.

The only other visitors Chuck allowed were Mako and Tendo. Raleigh didn’t think it was, as he had heard murmurings suggest, vanity. More that Chuck didn’t want pity, didn’t want to seem helpless.

Raleigh ate dinner each night with Mako and a rotating cast of others - Tendo, Aussie tech crew members, some of the Russians, Hermann and Newt, a set of German computer engineers who didn’t talk much but were friends with Tendo.

As they walked back to their quarters after their dinner with Newt, Mako said, “He is never that quiet. Maybe you can talk to him?”

“I’m not really good at that stuff,” Raleigh replied. Mako nodded.

“It is the drift,” Mako said, and she pressed her lips together. “You have more experience.”

“OK,” Raleigh said.

Newt and Hermman had quarters near the Shatterdome’s main lab. Raleigh knocked on Newt’s door.

“Hey,” he said, when he didn’t get an answer. “It’s Raleigh.” He thought back to their first encounter, Newt proudly showing him the kaiju tattoos on his arms and Raleigh scoffing a bit at his enthusiasm for the monsters - groupie, he thought. Not at all. Whatever it was that motivated Newton Geiszler, it was what had allowed them to close the breach.

“Oh, hey,” said Newt. He was wearing a worn out white undershirt and a pair of pajama pants that were a lot more sedate than Raleigh expected. “You want to come in? Kind of a shit hole.”

Kaiju and Jaeger drawings were tacked against one wall, while another sported pictures of what Raleigh presumed was Newton’s family. “Mama and Papa Newt,” he said, and waved his hand. “That’s my niece.” Raleigh nodded - the girl was maybe four and had an adorable evil grin that indicated she was going to get her hands into everything. He couldn’t understand why people were having kids now, even if they came out like that. “Hermann’s wife is due any day now, you know.”

“I know,” Raleigh said. The idea of Hermann having a wife had disquieted him - Hermann never made any mention of it until dinner the other night, when he finally let his guard down. We did not plan it, Hermann said. But what can you do? Raleigh had nodded, and then felt bad, because the thought that entered his head was, man, I wonder if Newt had to witness the moment of conception. He’d had the same reaction to finding out the Hansen’s were a father/son team - and Tendo had gone so far as to suggest he was pretty sure it was the reason Chuck was such a prick. The sex stuff was always the worst part about drifting - well, unless you were like the Kaidanovskies. Definitely not easy to meet your brother’s girlfriends when you saw what they did to them the night before. Same for your brother’s boyfriends.

“Yeah, well,” Newt said, and he nodded his head quickly with his eyebrows raised. “So. How’s Chuck doing? Not deep fried, I hope.”

“Pretty close,” Raleigh said. He felt bad, but he didn’t feel like joking about it.

“Fuck,” Newt said. “But he’s got Lauritsen working on him - she’s done all the Yaeger pilots with radiation stuff, not to mention trauma surgery. Man, I remember the day she walked into Hong Kong...you know how it is, you’re single, stuck in a place like this...” Raleigh nodded. Newt sat down on the bed. “Then, turns out she’s more interested in the ladies. And, well, that created a stir amongst...but her partner died in Shanghai last year, so.”

“Yance tried to hit on her once,” Raleigh replied.

“Huh,” said Newt. “Well, him and most of the PPDC.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Aw, man, did you come to check up on me and-”

“Mako said you weren’t doing well,” Raleigh said. No point, really, in obstruction.

“We kissed,” Newt said, and a smile spread across his face. “Had lunch with her yesterday. Kissed again - and both times, touching her skin, all I thought was...those things, staring at me, knowing I was there, coming for me...”

“Happens after you drift,” Raleigh said, and he sat down on the bed next to Newt. “First time, second time, any physical connection makes you remember it. That fades, though, it really will.”

“OK,” Newt said. “Because I’d like to keep kissing her and maybe some more stuff without having fucking Cthuthlu filled flashbacks, you know?”

“Right,” said Raleigh. “Kissing and maybe more stuff?”

“Yeah, you know! Fuck man, what do I look like?”

“It’s just that, people who say things kissing and maybe more stuff-”

“I am a gentlemen, thank you,” Newton said. “And maybe a little traumatized by drifting with Hermann, in that respect, but it’s cool. I’m glad he’s got someone to...who loves him.” Newt nodded forcefully.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “It’s why you try not to poke at things when you drift. But when you’re with someone you don’t share memories with...sometimes the most common experience...”

“Thanks,” Newt said. “It’s not gonna go away though, is it?”

“No,” Raleigh said.

“It was some pretty weird shit.”

“You kind of liked it,” Raleigh said.

“Maybe,” Newt replied, and he sighed. “You want to go and get a drink?”

“Like at a bar?” Raleigh asked, and he knew he looked skeptical - were there places even open in Hong Kong?

“Yeah, man, well, someone decided we should consolidate all of the alcohol in one of the empty Jaeger bays this afternoon. What were you doing?”

“Watching TV with Chuck,” Raleigh said.

“Oh, right,” Newt said. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Raleigh said. “Let’s go get a drink.”

“Great,” said Newt, and he stood up and went for the door.

“Hey,” Raleigh said. “You might want to put some clothes on?”

“Yes!” Newt said, and he nodded. “Give me a second.”

Raleigh waited outside, and smiled when Newt emerged in a button down, tie, and skinny pants - it seemed to be his uniform. “OK,” said Newt. “Let’s go get a drink.”

* * *

 

Raleigh smiled when he saw Tendo and Mako standing against a wall, Mako’s head tilted as Tendo spoke with. “Aren’t you Mr. Matchmaker?” Newt asked, following his gaze.

“I just encouraged you,” he said. “Looks like your girl is here.”

“Oh, she’s not my girl,” Newt said, and he sighed. “Even if we were in a relationship, you know, technically defined in some way...she’d never be mine, she’s from the wild taiga, her people have been living there for thousands of years, she’s free as a Siberian tiger.” He smiled.

“You have it bad,” Raleigh said, and wrapped an arm around his slender shoulder. He walked Newt straight over to her. “Hello, Talya.” She was wearing a white ribbed tank that showed off the intricate sleeves Raleigh had observed earlier. She also had a connecting back piece.

Raleigh couldn’t help but think that the two of them, naked together, might cause someone a seizure. And that, he heard Yancy say, is because you haven’t fucked someone in a long time. Always the older brother, Raleigh thought.

“Raleigh,” she said, with a smile. “Let me get you a drink. There is vodka. More vodka.” She put a bottle of something brownish on the wood bar. “I believe this the Chinese tech made in a bathtub. Also Beer.”

“You have any mixers?” Raleigh asked. “I’ll take a vodka and something.”

“Works for me,” said Newt.

“Excellent,” said Talya. She handed them both two drinks with vodka and then poured something fizzy in it. “How is Chuck?”  
  
“He’s all right,” Raleigh said. “He’s in rough shape, but...”

“He is very strong,” Talya said. “Even if he is a dick.” She looked at their faces. “Is that the right word?”

“It works,” Raleigh said.

“Always so curt with the girls,” she replied. She shook her head. “Just wanted to tell him how...” she looked at Newt, then grimaced and smiled, “...how pretty he is.”

“I think he’s just awkward,” Newt replied. Raleigh turned his head slightly - he couldn’t see that. Chuck seemed to be confident, he had a rolling swagger to his walk. But then again, Raleigh hadn’t seen him ever try and interact with a woman besides Mako - and that certainly hadn’t gone well.

Talya turned to serve a drink to a German engineer. When she turned back, Newt looked at Raleigh, then at her. “So, uh, is that a tiger on your back?” Newt asked. Raleigh resisted the urge to laugh.

* * *

 

Tendo smiled when he saw Raleigh and Newt at the bar with Talya. He had hoped both would show up - it was why he had mentioned to Mako that Newt was having trouble. It looked like he was in charge of morale, now that Herc had assumed the top spot in the hierarchy.

Herc had kept people running, kept them content, using his easy Aussie demeanor and by giving everyone all of the respect they had earned. Tendo figured it would be best to just follow in his example. Well, aside from the easy Aussie demeanor. You could probably only acquire that if you grew up in Australia at a time when it wasn’t getting attacked by giant otherworldly monsters.

“I am worried,” Mako said.

“About what?”

“I am worried about Raleigh,” she said. “I think it is hard for him, to be here. I think he remembers a lot about his brother.”

“Yeah,” Tendo said, and he debated what response to give her. “I think he needs to, though. I mean, he’s got to learn to live with it. It isn’t going to change.”

Mako nodded her head. “Marsh- Stacker - would say that to me often. He would be a better help for him.”

“We’re going to have to try,” Tendo said. “You do it by being friends.”

“Yes,” said Mako. “You are a good friend, Tendo.”

She gave Tendo a slight smile and shrugged her shoulders slightly. Tendo felt his stomach drop. Of course. Mako was almost twelve years younger than he was - what would she want with some old-ass bridge ops guy in suspenders? He glanced down and nodded.

“Tendo?”

“Yeah?” he said. Mako gave him a different slight smile, slightly flirtatious - or at least what qualified as flirtatious, from Mako. He thought. Maybe.

“You do not wish to be friends?”

“I like-” He glanced over in Raleigh’s direction, as he sat talking to Newt and Talya. What would Raleigh do? he thought. He was always so good at things like that - he’d either set-up or mediated some conflict between most of the couples in the Icebox. Tendo inhaled for courage and then he reached forward carefully and put a hand on her face. “I like you.”

“Yes?” Mako asked, and raised her eyebrows. “I like that.”

She leaned in and kissed him, grazed his lips lightly. He sighed - he had thought about this, a lot, and he never thought that it would be three days after they closed the breach in a makeshift bar a bunch of engineers built where a Horizon Brave used to stand. Tendo pressed back and opened his mouth, gentle with her and careful with his tongue. He touched her shoulder and guided her into a more secluded corner. When he pulled away, she leaned down slightly to rest her forehead on his shoulder. Then she pulled her head back up and smiled at him.

He had to glance over, quickly, hoping the entire bar wasn’t watching - that they weren’t going to erupt into cheers. Instead, it looked like just Raleigh saw. He flashed Tendo a grin and a thumbs up.

Tendo smiled back, then ran his fingers through Mako’s hair. He supposed, if you couldn’t get the father’s approval, you got the co-pilots. “I know,” Mako said. Whispered.

“We’ll figure it out, right?” Tendo said. Mako nodded. Then he leaned in and kissed her again.

* * *

 

Two weeks could slide by, nice and easy, and sometimes it could drag. Raleigh supposed it just depended on how you wanted to measure it - there had been a noted drop in activity in the Shatterdome, but, at the same time, more geniuses were turning up, just as he’d predicted. There was plenty of clean-up to be done, archives and information that needed to be carefully stored and preserved. Hermann was measuring it in hours that his child was still, to his wife’s irritation, in her womb. And then Tendo and Mako, Newt and Talya, they were measuring it in kisses - or, in Tendo’s case, possibly also the number of times Max shit or pissed on his floor.

“I’m convinced it’s out of spite,” he said to Raleigh, at breakfast one morning. “Like I’m keeping him from Chuck.”

“It’s better than him crying at night,” Raleigh replied.

“Yeah,” Tendo said, after thinking about it. “Yeah, the shit only upsets me for like thirty seconds.” He looked over at Max, who was seated in Mako’s lap. She scrunched his short ears in her hand.

“You had better get your manners back,” she replied.

Raleigh was measuring two weeks by the amount of television series he and Chuck watched. So far they had got through two comedies and two dramas, all from before K-Day. There had been a few movies as well, like the day Chuck had really dosed himself with his morphine clicker and admitted he had never seen  
Indiana Jones.

“That’s not acceptable,” Raleigh said. After the first one, he said, “I used to want to be Indiana Jones when I grew up.”

“Huh,” Chuck said. “I always wanted to be a Jaeger pilot.” Raleigh nodded - Herc had told him the same thing. It made Raleigh shiver, a little, because he was only six years older than Chuck and he couldn’t imagine growing up with the kaiju as a real, present danger while he tried to figure out first kisses and whether or not he wanted to slug his brother in the face.

Chuck wasn’t so bad when the pain medication was working. When it was working really well he even got chatty. Raleigh knew how that went - after his first Jaeger simulation with Yancy he’d cracked a couple of ribs and they’d given him oxycodone. He had practically danced around Yancy for two days, reliving the epic score they had got, telling him about some guy he liked, talking about where they needed to go on their first week off. He was really lucky, he realized in hindsight, that his brother had decided not to slug him in the face.

He liked talking to Chuck - his face would get animated, and not by scorn, and he had this way of twisting his lip when he wanted to emphasize something that was...and there was Yancy, again. You always go for the douchiest guy in the room, he said. He’d first said it Raleigh when they went down to Vancouver for the night and Raleigh had attempted to make eye contact with a guy, had to be a lawyer or a banker, in an immaculate suit and with bedroom hair that he had styled just so that morning. You need to find someone you can actually...share things with, Yancy said, when he felt more eloquent.

Chuck, high on morphine, actually revealed things to Raleigh. “You know Max?” he asked, once.

“I know Max,” Raleigh replied. Chuck smiled at him - he was still a little mushy on certain things, and Lauritsen couldn’t say for sure if it was the radiation, the painkillers, or the fact that Pentecost had probably just pulled him out of the drift to shove him into an escape pod.

“Got him when dad was out one day. Knew he wouldn’t have the heart to tell me to take him back to wherever I got him. Plus have you ever seen bulldogs when they’re puppies?”

“No,” Raleigh said, but he pulled up a picture on the tablet. Mako had been right. They were all wrinkles.

“I was an only child, so. Knew I had dad around my finger.” He looked over at Raleigh and then looked down. “Sorry.”

“No,” Raleigh said. “Not every statement about...that kind of thing, makes me think about my brother, you know...” Close to every statement.

“Not really,” Chuck replied, and gave him this ridiculous  _and I’m not really sorry, either,_  face, and Raleigh had to laugh.

Another time, he said, “I’m so sick of everyone asking if I’m pissed off because I drift with Herc, and that means I’ve seen my parents fucking - like, glimpses, right? But it’s not like I’m looking to focus in on that.”

“You don’t have to see it in all of its full color detail,” Raleigh said. “But it’s still there.”

“Yeah,” Chuck said. “But it’s good to know, you know, they loved each other. Right?”

“Yeah,” Raleigh replied.

“It’s weirder to watch your brother fuck,” Chuck said.

“No it isn’t,” Raleigh said.

“No, it isn’t,” Chuck agreed, and sighed.

But Chuck also went through the expected emotions. He was pissed off, he was depressed and he was angry. He was stuck in bed, fluids going in and out of his body, skin peeling everywhere, and now that his immediate radiation sickness symptoms had abated he was a lot more aware of his shattered ribs and rearranged insides.

Sometime during the transition from the first week to the second week Chuck decided he wasn’t going to talk to Raleigh. He wasn’t entirely sure why, though he was willing to guess a combination of pissed off, angry, depressed, and irritated. Chuck held out for three days - until Raleigh put on some ridiculous cartoon and refused to change it, forcing Chuck to ask him to take it off. Raleigh sat back and laughed.

“Fuck you, Becket,” Chuck said.

“That? For a cartoon?” Raleigh asked. “Just kids stuff.”

“Stupid,” Chuck said.

“You were the one giving me the silent treatment, anyway,” Raleigh pointed out.

“Was I supposed to talk to you?” Chuck asked.

Raleigh sighed. He got it - being hospitalized sucked, being covered in radiation burns probably sucked worse. “No,” he said. “It’s fine.”

“You don’t need to keep coming,” Chuck said.

“OK,” Raleigh said. He didn’t come the next day.

Herc found him at dinner that night. “Chuck wants you to come back,” he said. He grimaced, cocked his head to the side, like, _kids, what can you do?_

“That was quick,” Raleigh replied.

Herc looked at him and held his eye and for a moment, Raleigh felt uncomfortable. He got it, though, who wouldn’t be protective of their kid in this situation? Especially when you’d fought alongside of them. Drifted with them. Raleigh nodded, and Herc clapped him on the shoulder.

“How long have I been in here?” Chuck asked, when Raleigh stepped in the next morning.

“Two weeks, two days,” Raleigh said.

“Fuck it,” said Chuck.

“Can’t get infected,” Raleigh said. “Though your blood count is doing a lot better.”

“You get updates from the doctor?”

“Yeah,” Raleigh replied. Chuck rolled his eyes. “You don’t like her?”

“Why? ‘Cause every guy in this damn Shatterdome wants to put it to her?” Chuck asked.

“Well, not everyone,” Raleigh replied. He met Chuck’s eyes, and Chuck glanced away. Raleigh wasn’t sure exactly what passed between them - but it was something, heavy and palpable in the air. All for a pretty innocuous comment, too. After all, it stood to reason that there would be some gay men in the Shatterdome. Or some men who didn’t really want the company of tall, Scandinavian blondes?

“OK,” Chuck said. “Sure.”

Raleigh rolled his eyes, and then clicked to pick the next episode on their television show.

* * *

 

Tendo didn’t think that Raleigh would actually go and sit with Chuck Hansen each day. He knew that he had said he would, and it wasn’t exactly that Tendo questioned Raleigh’s ability to keep his commitments - he’d only really ever gone back on one, and that was accompanied with some pretty massive trauma. It was more that he questioned his ability to stand two weeks of a bored, pain ridden, and overall irritated Chuck Hansen. But it turned out Raleigh Becket had a good deal more patience than most other people combined.

Or maybe Chuck just hadn’t worn out as much of Raleigh’s patience as he had everyone else’s. He’d been fraying Tendo’s nerves for about a month now, after all.

Tendo went and caught them once, both sleeping, one afternoon. Raleigh was sprawled out in the chair, completely wrapped up in one of the sterile radiation suits. Chuck was rigid in the bed, but there was a slight smile on his face. They almost looked cute together. It made Tendo shake his head, and then he left.

“Chuck,” he said, that next night, when he went to go see him while Herc was suiting up. “You doing OK?”

“Everyone keeps asking that,” Chuck said, and he raised up one of his arms. He winced, probably from the motion in his ribs as well as disturbing the burn. His arm looked like raw meat, but it was also pussing, oozing, and still blistering. “This look OK?”

“Not really, man, no,” Tendo said. “They feeding you alright?”

“Through a line,” Chuck replied, and he picked up one of the many tubes going in and out of the sheet that was covering him from the chest down. “They let me drink some stuff, though.”

“Right,” said Tendo. “OK, well.”

Chuck rolled his eyes. “Sorry. I’m not very good company right now. Not like I’ve got anything to talk about.”

“Heard you could talk about some TV shows,” Tendo said.

“It’s a good thing he’s coming and putting them on, I’d probably just sit here by myself.” Tendo couldn’t tell if this was sarcasm or not. He’d always found Chuck hard to pin down.

“How much longer you have in there?”

“Until the skin isn’t porous,” Chuck said. “Lauritsen might do some skin grafts.”

“Ah,” said Tendo. He wondered how Chuck felt about it - Chuck never seemed to have time for girls, or girlfriends, but he also came across as a little vain about his looks. His face hadn’t been affected too badly, but blistered skin ran up the right side of his neck to his right ear. When he turned his head towards the door when Herc entered Tendo saw some bald spots in that area as well.

“Well, have a good evening,” he said.

“Hey!” Chuck said, and he turned back towards Tendo and winced from the quick motion. “How’s my baby?”

“He’s good,” Tendo said.

“Keeps shitting on the floor,” Herc said, plopping down in the seat next to Chuck.

“Spite shitting,” Chuck said, with a bit of a smile. “He knows he’s not supposed to do it. You been giving him treats?”

“Gotta watch his weight,” Herc said. “He isn’t a young pup anymore.”

“There’s a jar in my room,” Chuck said, rolling his eyes.

“OK,” Tendo said.

He didn’t want to enter Chuck’s room alone, and he felt strange asking Mako. So he went down to the bar, still going strong after it’s inception two weeks ago - stronger, even, since hard liquor, wine and beer had started to flow into Hong Kong now that the port was fully open. Tendo was glad to no longer have to rely on the Wei Tang’s bathtub moonshine or whatever it was Newt brewed in the lab. Though, of course, he would have liked to have the Wei Tangs around. They were good kids, even if they pretended to fumble with the basketball and hit Tendo with it every now and then - who had they been kidding, anyway?

“Hey,” he said. Raleigh was seated by himself, flipping through a book with a beer at his side. He looked good, Tendo thought, the dark circles under his eyes had lightened.

“Hey,” Raleigh said. He gave him a soft smile. “What’s going on?”

Someone walking by from the bar with a bucket of ice and beer handed Tendo a bottle. He nodded in thanks. “Chuck thinks Max will stop shitting on my floor if I give him some treats.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Raleigh said. “Mako got him now?”

“He’s out getting some exercise with her,” Tendo replied. “Since he’s not running back and forth and all over...anyway, thought you might want to go and get them with me?”

“Yeah, sure, where are they?” Raleigh asked. He stood and shoved the book into the pocket of the oversized parka he was still wearing.

“Chuck’s room,” Tendo said, and he took a long swig from his beer.

“Mako and Max are in Chuck’s room - wait, what are you proposing here, Tendo?” Raleigh asked. He narrowed his eyes and it highlighted some of the slight wrinkles, from sun and exposure, but he was smiling, too. Tendo shook his head.

“No, the dog treats,” he said.

“Ah,” said Raleigh. “Still could be kinky.”

“It’s not going to be kinky,” Tendo said, then paused. Chuck was twenty-one, twenty-two, he had to be getting off somehow - Tendo would bet that he climbed into Striker and did it, but who knew? He amended his statement. “It’s not going to be kinky between me, you, and the pet treats.”

“You think Chuck’s into some stuff?” Raleigh asked, as they walked. He seemed better, Tendo thought, though he knew he wasn’t, not really. Two weeks wasn’t going to change anything if five years hadn’t helped. Still - right now, in these last few moments, he was just like the old Raleigh Becket. Not that Tendo had any right to ask him to be like this all the time. People had to evolve.

“Don’t know,” Tendo said. “He was always so focused on training, being the best pilot possible, upping his numbers, upping his fitness...never really saw him with anyone.”

“Huh,” Raleigh said. His brow was furrowed and he seemed to be seriously thinking about something, but Tendo couldn’t guess what.

Chuck’s room was as expected - rumpled sheets stuffed into a corner of the bed, a corkboard with postcards tacked to it, a poster from some rock band. Tendo also caught a picture of Chuck, Herc, and a woman who had to be his mom on his bedside table - he looked away.

His desk was spare except for his computer - the shelf above had some dog toys and the jar of treats, and pictures of Max were taped alongside it. Tendo studied one of a much younger Chuck, grinning with Max in his lap. He sighed, grabbed the jar, and turned.

“He’s a bit of a cypher, huh?” Raleigh asked when they left.

“You could say that,” Tendo replied. “But, damn, you’ve spent every day for two weeks with him.”

“Well, mostly catching up on quality television,” Raleigh replied. “And some movies.” Tendo nodded at this, and they headed out towards the open bays that led to the Shatterdome’s platforms.

Mako was at the edge, peering into the ocean. Max sat dutifully at her side - he always behaved for Mako, somehow recognizing that she deserved it. “Heey, Max,” Tendo said, and he opened the jar. The dog immediately turned and started to thump his tail. “You think he knows any tricks?”

“Drool,” Raleigh said.

“Can you sit?” Tendo asked, holding a treat in his hand - it came back to him immediately, the way he used to for his sister’s dog. They’d lost Sprite in San Francisco, though.

Max looked at him, widening his eyes to appear more pathetic, and wagged his stumpy tail. “Sit,” Tendo said.

Mako reached over and took another treat out of the jar. She kneeled down and smiled at Max. “Max. Sit.”

The dog plopped down instantly, and she moved her hand forward so he could accept the treat. Then she stroked his head.

“He likes you better,” Tendo said. “If we were in a romantic comedy he’d try and hook you up with Chuck.”

Mako wrinkled her nose, and Tendo glanced back at Raleigh. Instead of smiling, though he had his lips pressed together and his forehead slightly furrowed.

“No,” Mako said. “I will just continue to be friends with Max.” She nodded at the beer in Tendo’s hand. “Do you think they will still have some?”

“We can go and check,” Raleigh said, and Mako smiled at him.

* * *

 

Raleigh wasn’t able to sit with Chuck for two days when he got skin grafts spread over some of the areas of skin that just weren’t healing. “We’ve been taking off the dead tissue,” Dr. Lauritsen told Herc, who told Raleigh, “but it just hasn’t been enough.”

The day after he got the grafts he was under strict orders not to move for a week. Raleigh watched him through the viewing window when he was asleep, taking in his appearance - he looked a little bit like a patchwork quilt. Right now, the grafted skin looked like webbing. It was hard to look away.

“There’s something about the texture of it,” Dr. Lauritsen said, stepping in next to him. “It is fascinating. He is more angry, today.”

“He’ll be out of high oxygen and containment in two days though, right?” Raleigh said.

“As long as we do not have infection in the grafts,” she replied. “I never thought he was concerned with his looks, just being a Jaeger pilot.” Raleigh nodded.

“He’s twenty-one, twenty-two,” Raleigh replied. Dr. Lauritsen nodded and cocked her head.

On his first day back, Chuck didn’t acknowledge his entrance - so we’re doing this again, Raleigh thought. Then Chuck said, “Can’t move my neck. Got a nice big graft there. How come no one fucking told me my hair was coming out?”

“You didn’t ask,” Raleigh said, sitting in his customary chair.

“You should of assumed I’d fucking care,” Chuck said. “My skin is fucked. Now I’m patchy.” He pouted, though it was sincere. “And you know this might not heal.”

Raleigh nodded. He’d refreshed himself on radiation burns, talked with the doctor about them. Better than your insides being fucked. “Atrophy, damaged sebaceous and sweat glands, necrosis, fibrosis, desquamation...”

“Yeah, I got that list too. But you got to look at pictures.”

Raleigh grabbed the tablet in the room and started to Google. He showed pictures to Chuck of each, watched as Chuck’s lips curled and his breathing became a bit more rapid, more irregular. “Fucking hell,” he said, at the end.

Normally, Raleigh would try and be supportive and talk to him around it, but he figured this was probably one of those times when a swift kick in the ass might be needed. He wasn’t going to heal if he was feeling sorry for himself. “You were supposed to die,” he said. “You went into that Jaeger knowing you were going to die. Now you’re just going to be a bit bumpy.”

“You tell yourself something like that when you woke up from your coma, Rawl-lee?” he asked, saying his name in the same obnoxious way he had the first time. “But you look just fine.”

“Brain is fucked, though,” Raleigh replied. It was a two-for-one special - well, probably a one-and-a-half-for-one special. Yancy had been a little more silent lately.

“Can’t see that,” Chuck replied.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Raleigh asked, and he cocked his head. Chuck had sort of struck him as asexual - everyone was trying to get in one last fuck before the end of the world and Chuck had been sitting with his damn dog, petting his head. “Your face is still good. It’s just on your neck, back around there.” He waved his white plastic gloved hand at the area by Chuck’s ear where the bald spots were.

“My face is still good?” Chuck asked. “Thanks, Rawl-lee. You an expert on that?”

Raleigh cocked his head slightly. What did it matter? Chuck Hansen had plenty of other reasons not to like him. “Yeah, probably.”

Chuck met his eyes and held them, and Raleigh resisted the urge to sigh. He had gorgeous eyes, grey-green and deep. “You like boys, Rawl-lee?”

“Yeah,” Raleigh replied. He was glad most of his face was hidden from Chuck. He didn’t say anything, just held Raleigh’s expression. “Mostly. Primarily.” Chuck’s look softened, and then he glanced away. He pressed his lips together and blinked a few times.

“OK,” he said, finally. Raleigh shrugged. It wasn’t like he was expecting an actual apology.

“You’ll still get laid,” Raleigh said, wanting to get as far away from that awkward exchange as possible. “You saved the world. In a giant robot.”

“Shot a flare gun into a kaiju’s eyeball,” Chuck added, and his tone was serious. Raleigh laughed, and then Chuck laughed. “You mind clicking my morphine for me?”

“You’re not allowed to reach for it?” Raleigh asked. That seemed cruel.

“Lauritsen set it to go off every twenty minutes. But I used to get it every ten.”

“Well,” Raleigh said, clicking the button. “Painkiller dependency isn’t good.” If they hadn’t cut off his supply of Vicodin, he probably wouldn’t be here - in the Shatterdome, or here, more generally. He’d replaced it with construction and with long work outs when he wasn’t on the wall.

“I have skin mesh stretched across me,” Chuck said. “I don’t even want to know where it came from.”

“I’m not - I just felt like I should give the general disclaimer,” Raleigh said.

“Fine,” Chuck said. “Um. Thought we could watch a movie. _Lord of the Rings_  - filmed right in my backyard.”

“I think the Kiwis would object to you claiming it as your backyard,” Raleigh replied, but he grabbed the remote for the television and queued up the extended editions of the movies. That would take most of today and tomorrow.

* * *

 

“I have a question to ask,” Mako said, placing her dinner tray next to his.

“Sure,” Raleigh replied. Tendo and Herc were at the other end of the table, chatting about something - looked like business. Or whatever qualified as business these days.

“Before the other scientists arrive, Marshall Hansen would like us to try to drift,” she said. “So that we can have our own information to use.”

“The scientists who are going to look into other applications for the drift,” Raleigh said. Mako nodded.

“If you do this with me, you will not have to for them,” she said. “We have many cadets who could be used for their studies.” Raleigh gave her a slight smile - he liked the way that she worked. The sweetness in her voice, the plain manner in which she spoke English, her calm expressions - it all hid the fire and intelligence that churned beneath her skin.

“Sure,” he said.

“Very good,” she said, and nodded over at Tendo and Herc. They walked over, and she nodded again before they sat down.

“Great,” said Herc. “You’re all we have left, you know - good to get a baseline-” Raleigh furrowed his brow. Herc and Chuck were left, as well. But one look at Mako and he knew why Herc and Chuck probably wouldn’t drift for a long time, if ever. There were some things that were too raw to expose another person to.

“Not a problem, sir,” Raleigh said. He smiled when he saw Tendo put a hand on Mako’s thigh and then kissed her lightly on the cheek. Not that she needed his approval.

“Oh, shit,” Tendo said, and Raleigh grinned as Mako giggled. “This is why they told us not to sleep with pilots, isn’t it, it wasn’t because it would affect their concentration, it was because-”

“It was because having one person have to see your ass on base was enough,” Raleigh filled in. Mako immediately reddened, and Herc laughed and slapped Raleigh on the shoulder.

Mako, ever the diplomat, said, “I have heard Chuck will be in a regular room tomorrow afternoon.”

“So long as his grafts hold,” Herc replied.

“This is very good news,” Mako said.

“Better than I expected, honestly,” Herc replied. Everyone was quiet, for a moment, then - there had been a time, after all, when Herc had expected nothing at all.

They went over to the bar after they ate dinner and were handed a bottle of whiskey by the bartender. “Least I can do,” she said. She was one of the nurses, Raleigh realized, and he gave her a slight smile and collected some plastic cups for them.

“Anyone heard from Hermann?” he asked.

“Wife’s just about ready to pop,” Herc said. “We gave him some time off to take care of things, get stuff ready in his apartment.” Raleigh had almost forgot that the Shatterdomes had those built in - they had initially been for those high up the chain of command, but then were soon given over to officers with family. Herc and Chuck would have lived in one, and Mako and Pentecost.

They drank and settled in and talked to the variety of people who came over to their table. Tendo clutched Mako’s hand throughout most of the evening - he had to have liked her for some time, Raleigh realized. He hadn’t seen it in Mako, in the drift, but then again, her focus had been so single-minded she might have completely divorced herself from whatever feelings she had. She was like Chuck - who had time to fuck when their were kaiju to kill? That had never been his approach, to be sure. Life was too damn short before you even began to factor in Jaeger pilot mortality...

Yancy had been with a woman for two weeks before their last run in Gipsy. Anna, one of the base’s scientists, she worked primarily on chemical engineering. She specialized in lubricants - Raleigh had probably over used that joke, to the point where it wasn’t really funny anymore. They had liked each other well enough, but that had been Yancy and most people. He never really opened up. Parents, they silently agreed during one of their first drifts. Classic commitment issues from having a mom that up and dies on you.

“Don’t you agree, Raleigh?” Tendo asked, and it snapped him back to the present.

“Sorry,” he said, and met Mako’s knowing glance.

“It’s fine,” Herc said, and thumped him on the shoulder again - he wondered if the touching was an Aussie thing, or a Herc thing. “Save the world, still too much to think about.”

Herc got pretty drunk over the course of the evening. Mako speculated, when he went to the bathroom, that it was likely because Chuck was mostly through the worst of it and appeared to be recovering. When he came back, he swayed a little bit and grinned at all of them.

Raleigh wasn’t sure how it got brought up, but at some point Herc said, “Don’t tell Chuck, but the skin grafts? Had to find a donor for them - and I can’t tell you who, confidentiality and all, but apparently the best skin to get that stuff from is from the ass.”

Mako’s eyes widened comically at this pronouncement, and then she immediately joined Raleigh and Tendo in full, booming laughter.

“It fits, right?” Herc asked, grinning. “Kid’s got asshole all over him, now.”

The next day, Raleigh wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to meet Chuck’s eyes now that he was aware of where the striated pieces of skin had been harvested and grown from. It wasn’t hard, though, Chuck had an annoyed expression on his face and rolled his eyes when Raleigh sat down and turned the movie on. Raleigh rolled his eyes back and settled in - he loved these movies, though it was a little more difficult to watch them when you had actually been in a struggle to keep the world from ending yourself.

“Pause it,” Chuck said, five minutes in - even though they were in the middle of the second film, right when it started to get good. “Look, Raleigh-”

“Hmm?” Raleigh asked, and turned so he could meet Chuck’s eyes.

“Yesterday, I. Fuck. I don’t do this, usually.”

Raleigh was confused - he didn’t see what was so out of the ordinary about yesterday. “It’s fine-”

“Not fine,” Chuck said. “I goaded you and it was because...I was curious.”

“Curious?” Raleigh asked.

“About...that.” Chuck said. Raleigh was about to shake his head until it fell into place - he blamed his delayed reaction on his hangover. “About you.”

“Oh, well...” Raleigh trailed off, not sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. Teenage Chuck had a fucking Gipsy Danger poster on his wall, after all. He could only imagine what Chuck thought the lives of the Becket Boys was like.

“I think I am. Too.”

Raleigh took a moment to digest this. The presence of the Gipsy Danger poster took on a whole different meaning. “Oh,” he said. “You think?”

“Well, I’ve never...” Neither of them was able to look at the other, at this point. No wonder he was so pissy yesterday about how he looked, Raleigh thought. He found it incredibly hard to believe that Chuck had never - but then again, going everywhere with your father and having him drift with you was probably an incredibly efficient cock block.

“Dedicated to being the best damn Jaeger pilot you could be,” Raleigh replied.

“Yeah,” Chuck said, and he laughed, though it was more of a choked sound than anything. “Last thought I had, you know, Pentecost is jamming me in that escape pod - fuck, man, I’m gonna die without ever...” He exhaled, and then drew his mouth to the side.

Raleigh had to close his eyes for a moment, because he looked so young and so vulnerable, there, and also pretty fucking hot. It was easier to think about Chuck’s looks when it had been more abstract. When he had assumed that there was never a chance of...

“Anyway,” Chuck said. “We should put the movie back on.”

“Yeah,” Raleigh agreed.

* * *

“You know I volunteered for this,” Newt said, seated on the table as Mako and Raleigh waited for the technician’s to get the drift apparatus set up and attached to the various monitors and computers that were going to be used to record their session. “Hermann and I drifted, after all.”

“With a fetal kaiju brain,” Tendo said. “Aren’t you still getting nosebleeds?”

“Yeah,” Newt said. “But’s it’s cool, doc said it will probably continue for awhile ‘cause of that whole solo kaiju drift I pulled off. I saw myself in the mirror, the other day, when one started, and I looked pretty damn tough I have to say - I have never been punched by someone, but I imagine it’s the same effect. Like Fight Club, you know-”

“I find that very hard to believe,” Herc said.

“Punched in the face, at least,” Newt said. “Never got bullied, though - my parents had me in private schools, I was more likely to get assaulted for throwing of the curve for all of the other baby geniuses.”

“How is your lady friend?” Mako asked.

“Good, I think,” Newt said. “She went back home for a much needed trip, actually, hasn’t been there for over a year. Invited me to come but I’m not sure if I’m willing to, you know, share a yurt with her family and all of that.”

“They do not live in a yurt,” Tendo said.

“Fuck you, you think I’m making a joke? They’re nomads, Choi, they live in a goddamn yurt.” Raleigh rolled his eyes, but smiled. They were all becoming friends, it seemed, and this was as strange of a concept to him as getting back into a Jaeger had been. Five years was a long time to go without substantive human interaction.

“Mori? Becket?” called one of the techs. “We’re ready for you.”

It was strange to put the helmet on without the rest of the jumpsuit, stranger still to be seated in a chair next to Mako while the drift was initiated. They were hooked up to one arm mechanical each so that they could perform motions and actions to be studied while connected.

Raleigh took in some deep breaths - he had wanted to do this, not just for science, but for himself. He wanted to do it again because it might exorcise a bit more of his brother’s ghost. He wanted to do it because he wanted that rush, that feeling of connection, that sense that he was not alone.

Mako’s memories flooded in first - flashes Onibaba, but she was able to push that trauma aside. Her and Pentecost visiting a woman in the hospital - his co-pilot, his friend, Mako supplied - and then a grave by an ocean. The two of them in Kwoon combat, Raleigh taking her arm - Raleigh fighting Chuck and how she was itching to get in - Pentecost, holding a red shoe out to her - her last moment with her adopted father, and then her family, and-

Damnit, Raleigh thought, because there was Yancy looking over at him while they struggled against Knifehead, there was his mother in a hospital bed attached to all manner of machines and there was-

 _Raleigh,_  she called, and supplied something else - Pentecost was taking her for a rare treat, ice cream, and they were both laughing as they sat at a bench along another ocean and ate it. The wind was cold and the air was thick and even though Raleigh had never been there he knew it was England.

And then there was Tendo and his laugh and the feeling of skin on skin - and maybe she thought it would help, that he might find it funny, except the last person he slept with had been on the wall and he had only done it because he wanted to feel something again - _No!_  Mako said. _I have always respected him._

 _Of course,_  he replied, and something clicked then and there they were. Connected through mutual misunderstanding. Some tech would get bogged down in how that happened.

“Neural Handshake Initiated,” came Tendo’s voice. “Let’s begin maneuvers.”

It was so fucking easy with Mako, he thought - easier than with Yancy, probably, because he and Yancy had connected over common memories that had the same emotions attached to them. He and Mako just had the emotions to work with. As they powered down from the neural handshake and were pulled out of the drift, he felt energized by the connection and how easy it had been to move together - even if they had just been tossing a ball back and forth.

“We’ll give you two a moment,” Herc said, and everyone filed out of the room.

Raleigh looked over and smiled at Mako, and she smiled back - but there was something in her eyes, concern, but not quite, something he hadn’t felt when they’d been connected together. “What?”

“Oh, Raleigh,” she said, and she sort of sighed as she smiled.

“What?” She’d probably somehow caught a view of his ass. Not like Mako hadn’t been proactive in taking in an eyeful earlier.

“You do not even know,” she said, and shook her head. “I will not spoil-” Raleigh cocked his head and gave her a look. “You are in like,” she said. “It is not surprising, the time you have spent-”

“With Chuck Hansen?” Raleigh asked. “Uh.” He paused - was he? She had probably sensed his physical attraction and hell, that was probably awkward enough. “Maybe we’re going to need to go over the neural handshake recording, because-”

“Perhaps,” Mako said, and set her face back into her professional expression. “I did not mean to offend-”

“No, hardly,” Raleigh said. “I mean. No!”

“Good,” Mako replied, and smiled slightly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The one with the smut at the end.

Even though he was out of the sterile room, Chuck was still under strict orders not to move and disrupt his skin grafts. Dr. Lauritsen - Signe, Raleigh corrected himself - had been pretty stern with him. “Any movement will open the graft, which means infection, which means you go septic. You will not like that.” She looked at the two of them like Raleigh was responsible for Chuck as well.

When she left, Chuck rolled his eyes. “Almost forgot what you look like,” Chuck said to Raleigh.

Raleigh smiled at him. He was looking better - the ungrafted skin was healing, and though there would be scars, it was nothing like what it could have been. Raleigh remembered the slideshow they had showed them, to ensure they took precautions while working with the Mark IIIs. It was sort of like the STI slide shows they showed in high school.

“Well,” Raleigh said. “It’s nice to be out of that garbage bag.” Chuck shrugged, but Raleigh could tell he was appraising him - maybe he felt awkward about almost sort of actually apologizing before. He probably would blame it on the painkillers.

“You only wear that sweater?”

“Don’t have much else,” Raleigh said, and shrugged. It was Yancy’s. Everyone knew without needing to ask.

“They haven’t paid out yet for you saving all their asses?” Chuck asked. Raleigh shook his head.

“Keep feeding me though,” he said, and then winced because he wasn’t sure if they were still feeding Chuck through a tube.

“Got some solid food today,” Chuck said. “Just as awesome as I remember.” Raleigh couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

The door swung open to the room before Raleigh could comment, and he was relieved.

“Hey, Chuck-ster,” said Newt. Chuck’s lips curled, and he looked over to Raleigh - like Raleigh had any control over this sort of thing. “Thought I’d pop in and see how you were doing.”

“Chuck-ster?” Chuck asked.

“Yeah, it’s a nickname, you know, sign of affection and friendship-” Chuck furrowed his brows, like he was trying to decide if Newt was a friend.

“Newt’s bored because his lady friend is back home in Siberia,” Raleigh interjected.

“You have a girlfriend?” Chuck asked.

“One, she got back today, and two, yes, she exists,” Newt said. He reached his hand around and massaged at the back of his neck - and Raleigh was now certain that Chuck had pretty much terrorized the entire Shatterdome by acting like a little shit for the past however months. It said a lot that people had definite affection for him. “But we haven’t - you usually have a discussion, or something, right, like, hey, this is a serious relationship and not just...stuff because we’re super happy we didn’t die, right?” He glanced at Raleigh.

“You think I know?” Raleigh asked.

“Soo...” Newt said. “How are you doing?”

“How the fuck does it look like I’m doing?” Chuck asked. He held up the arm without the skin graft to show off his scarred skin, a few areas that were still peeling. Raleigh pressed his lips together and looked at Newt.

“Itchy,” Newt said. “Brought you something.” He glanced down, and Raleigh realized he had a small bag with him.

Chuck raised an eyebrow, a bit apprehensive. Newt sat down in the other chair next to Chuck’s bed and pulled out a package wrapped in newspaper.

“You mind, Raleigh?” Chuck asked. Raleigh opened it, not sure what it was.

“Tim Tams!” Chuck said, and he grinned. “How the hell did you get your hands on these?” He was smiling, legitimately smiling, and Raleigh met his eyes and then had to look away.

“A magician never reveals his secrets,” Newt said, and he was grinning as well. “I didn’t feel like wrapping them all up, but there’s three more of them in there. Uh, Lauritsen said you might want to take it easy with them, though.”

“Yeah, well,” Chuck said, and he nodded at Raleigh.

“Not your manservant,” Raleigh.

“Rawl-lee, you mind opening my Tim Tams? Please” Chuck asked, the whole thing in sing-song voice, and he gave him a blistering smile that made Raleigh...well, he didn’t really want to think about that.

Raleigh handed Chuck one of the chocolate covered discs. “Try one,” Chuck said, holding it like the manufactured cookie was some kind of miracle. “They’re awesome.” Raleigh handed one to Newt and they all ate one - it reminded Raleigh of the night they did vodka shots while Chuck was in surgery.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “They’re all right.”

“They’re all right,” Chuck said in a mocking tone. “Fuck you.”

“Not big on chocolate,” Newt said. “But they’re cool. So, uh, I’ll leave you two with your Tim Tams, and...” a slow grin stretched across his face, and he turned and left. Raleigh narrowed his eyes - what, exactly, was he getting at?

“Everyone and their damn mother’s gonna be stopping in, aren’t they?” Chuck asked, reaching for another Tim Tam.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “You’ve got a lot of friends.” Chuck rolled his eyes. “People that care about you.”

“Just not enough to scrub down in a shower and wear a condom to see me,,” Chuck said.

“Well, they came to the other side of your, uh, containment unit,” Raleigh said.

“Like a fucking zoo animal,” Chuck said. “Come and watch Chuck’s skin fall off.” Raleigh pressed his lips together, not exactly sure what to say to that. “Who’s Newt’s friend?”

“Talya, uh...Kuliken?” Raleigh said. Chuck shook his head. “Cherno engineer, has sleeve tattoos-”

“Oh yeah,” Chuck said. “She’s from Siberia, or something. That makes sense - that’s the one Newt’s been making eyes since...well, since before we got here.” He paused, for a moment. Raleigh was impressed he knew about Talya, enough that showed he either had a conversation with her or paid attention. “Mako and Tendo?”

“Yeah,” Raleigh replied, and he wrinkled his nose slightly - there had been definite images of various Tendo body parts yesterday in their drift. Definitely not a R.A.B.I.T. you wanted to chase. Sex was always that hardest things, with pilots. Raleigh remembered the talk they got right before they tested for Drift compatibility - you better not have any shame, Dr. Lightcap had said. Or any kinks you don’t want people to know about.

“So everyone’s getting laid ‘cause the world didn’t end,” Chuck said. He made an odd face, largely by curling his lips, and Raleigh had to avert his gaze for a second. He helped himself to another Tim Tam.

“Chuck-” Raleigh began, though he didn’t know exactly what to say. He certainly sort of understood where Chuck was coming from. He had felt, for a long time, like he was too broken for anyone to want to be with -  
but it wasn’t something that people would immediately see.

“Hello, Chuck,” said Mako - neither of them had heard her open the door. She looked at Chuck first, then at Raleigh. “Is nice to be out of your...room?”

“Guess so,” Chuck said. “Looks like I’ll be getting a lot more visitors.”

“With treats,” Mako said. “Everyone is very happy you are doing well.”

“This looks like well to you?” Chuck asked. He waved his good arm again. Mako nodded.

“Well means you are alive,” Mako said. She gave Chuck a straight, hard look that very clearly reminded him that he was in a room with two people who had lost those they were close with. Raleigh loved Mako.

“Yeah,” Chuck said. “Fuck, never thought I’d look fondly on all those days we sat and watched random shit on T.V.” Mako glanced over at Raleigh and, for some reason, she smiled ever so slightly. Then she took the seat next to Raleigh.

“We drifted yesterday,” Mako said. “To get data. Before more scientists come.”

“To study the drift?” Chuck asked. “Guess there’s money in that.”

“Gotta keep Newt in kaiju parts,” Raleigh said.

“Why are we keeping Newt in kaiju parts?” Chuck asked.

“Newt and Hermann are changing their focus, reverse engineering kaiju - figure out how whatever it was on the other side made them,” Raleigh said.

“Oh, yeah, cause that will end well,” Chuck said.

“To fight them we have to understand them,” Mako said.

“Except the breach is closed,” Chuck said. Mako shrugged her shoulders - Raleigh knew what she was thinking. Sure, they had nuked the anteverse, closed the breach, but it wasn’t a guarantee that they had got rid of everything on that side. They could come back in years, decades - and this time, hopefully, humanity had the advantage of being prepared.

“No more doom and gloom,” said Mako. “Your father said you are fond of these.” She reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out a tube of cookies - Chocolate Covered Hob Nobs, whatever those were.

“Man, you have ridiculous names for your cookies and stuff,” Raleigh said.

“Hob Nobs are English,” Chuck said, as if Raleigh were personally insulting him. “Tim Tams are Australian.”

“Apologies,” Raleigh said, and he put his hand over his heart. Mako smiled and opened the package.

“You like them too?” Chuck said.

“They were Sensei’s favorites,” Mako replied, and she glanced down slightly before she took a delicate bite of the cookie. “Try one, Raleigh. They will be better than the Tim Tam.” Chuck shook his head.

“Raleigh will give a neutral opinion,” Mako said. “Right, Raleigh?”

“Promise,” Raleigh said. He took a bite of the cookie. “Yeah, these are better.” Chuck shook his head.

“You can’t account for taste, I guess,” he said. Mako nodded, carefully eating her cookie.

* * *

 

“I saw something yesterday,” Mako said. She and Tendo were walking along the loading dock on the Shatterdome, Max trotting in front of them. He seemed a little happier, now that Mako was around more, but he still periodically shit in Tendo’s room.

His life would be a lot easier if he could just take Max to go and see Chuck. He was out of quarantine, but apparently that didn’t mean he could visit with dogs. Tendo knew, though, that not seeing Chuck was just one of the issues - he suspected Max was also angry about getting left in Mako’s quarters so that they could go to Tendo’s and...

Tendo, Mako said, the first evening, as they lay on his bed kissing - their clothes were still on, their hands still above their waists. Tendo. This is very nice. But the dog is staring at us. Tendo figured this partially explained Chuck’s lack of experience.

“You saw something when you were drifting?” Tendo asked. “Raleigh seems like he is doing OK.” He furrowed his brow. He really did seem like he was doing all right, even though he was spending the majority of his time with Chuck.

“He is still...it will get better but always be there,” Mako replied. Tendo nodded. Ever since they had started dating he had wanted to ask her what she knew about Raleigh and Yancy, about how it still affected him. He hadn’t, though, because Raleigh had no interest in talking about it and Tendo respected that. The most that Mako volunteered independently was that Yancy was like a ghost. “No, this is something else.” She paused and glanced out into the harbor. “You know him well.”

“Knew him very well,” Tendo replied. “Getting back there, I guess. Five years is a long time.” They were slowly making up for it in the makeshift bar. Still.

Mako nodded, though it was clear from her expression that she was thinking of something - perhaps how she wanted to phrase what she was going to say next.

Finally, she spoke. “He is...I do not wish to betray his trust, but...”

She turned and smiled at Tendo, and then took a free hand and placed it on his cheek to turn him towards her. She kissed him, hard and swift, and Tendo felt his knees weaken slightly at how forceful Mako was. He had known that she was a warrior, of course, one of the best Rangers to come through PPDC - but there was always something exciting about discovering these kinds of things about people in a more intimate way. “I also do not want to interfere.”

“With Raleigh?”

“Yes,” Mako said. “But I feel like...I have seen so much of him, and - he pushed for me.”

“You feel like you owe him?” Tendo asked.

“Not owe,” Mako said. “Maybe this will help him. He will feel better.”

“Right,” Tendo said.

“ You were good friends with him, when he was dating?” Mako asked.

“Yeah,” Tendo said - but of course Mako knew about Raleigh’s preferences. “Never anyone serious,” he said - who could Raleigh possibly be thinking about? “Yancy used to get - Yance and I were pretty good friends, Raleigh was just a kid then...used to get so mad, said Raleigh always went for the biggest douche bag in the room. It was true, too.” He shook his head, remembering the ex-lax-bro who wanted to be a Jaeger pilot,, the one rich kid from Vancouver who’d gone to school at Harvard and wore flip flops even in Anchorage, the Canadian Jaeger engineer.

“Douche bag?” Mako asked, sounding out each syllable and moving her mouth slowly around them - making the word look a lot more attractive than it had any right looking.

“Yeah, like...well. Like a jerk, but more. Usually attractive, but cocky. Not bad - just...”

“This is his type?” Mako asked, and her smile widened slightly.

“Oh, no,” Tendo said - and why hadn’t he seen this sooner. “He likes Chuck?”

“Yes,” Mako said, but then she raised her first finger and pressed it to Tendo’s lips. “I do not want to interfere. I want to make sure it is...a good idea. He would not even admit to me.”

“But you were in his head.”

“Yes,” Mako said. “Even then.”

Tendo looked ahead for a moment - who was he to judge? Hell, maybe the reason Chuck was such a little bastard was because he’d never been with someone and his closest relationships were with with Herc and Max.

Max ran back towards them, then - or waddled quickly, the Max equivalent of running. We’re supposed to be on a walk, his eyes said. Jesus, Tendo thought, he was anthromorphizing the dog. More than that, he thought that he was telepathically communicating with the dog.

He needed to give Max back to Chuck.

* * *

 

“I want booze,” Chuck said to Signe, when she came in to check on him that evening.

“You are on a dilaudid drip,” said Signe.

Chuck narrowed his eyes. Raleigh nodded. “You’ve got quite the stash here anyways,” he said. Tim Tams, Hob Nobs, Jelly Babies, and Prawn flavored potato chips. Crisps, Raleigh corrected himself, and he was very frightened of them. Chuck insisted they were delicious. There were also more normal things like giant Hershey bars and bottles of Coke.

“Not booze,” Chuck said. “Everyone else is drinking.”

“I’m sure you’ll get quite the party when you’re out of here,” Signe replied. “They are saving the good champagne.” She nodded at them, and then stepped out of the room.

This seemed to mollify Chuck - then he focused on the door as Signe left and he narrowed them into something approximating menace. “Do you come back here with more Tim Tams?” As though the Tim Tams were an imposition, and he hadn’t already gone through a box.

Raleigh turned his head and smiled at Newt and Talya in the door.

“Tim Tam?” Talya asked. “I picked something up for you at the airport.” She looked nervous, and Newt put his hand on the small of her back before she approached Chuck.

Talya had the gift wrapped, and Raleigh carefully undid it and grinned when he saw the box. Chuck narrowed his eyes more when he saw it,, then looked at Talya - as though she had been the one to come up with it. As though she was joking with him.

“A small Max,” she said, in a helpful voice.

“Yeah,” Chuck said. Raleigh opened the top of the box, emblazoned with a picture of Striker Eureka on one side and the dog logo on the other. The little stuffed Max was surprising accurate and really soft.

“Do they have little Gipsy’s?” Raleigh asked.

“This was the only stuffed one,” Talya said. “Others were plastic.”

“Action figures,” Raleigh said - he remembered the older ones, from when they were actually winning and beating the kaiju back.

“It’s cause you don’t have a mascot,” Chuck said to Raleigh. He took his hand and pivoted the stuffed Max towards him and grinned.

“Anyway,” said Newt. “Just wanted to drop that off, uh-”

“Thanks,” said Raleigh. Once they left, he said. “See? What do you need booze for?”

“Fuck off, Becket,” Chuck said, but he was still smiling. Raleigh held his eyes and felt that familiar pit in his stomach - should be a fucking danger signal, Yancy would have told him, danger! danger! Hot asshole alert!

Shut up, Yancy, Raleigh thought, which was also what he said each time but this time was different. A little different. Also, he thought, just to cover all his bases, shut up, Mako.

He leaned in and Chuck furrowed his brow and Raleigh inhaled and knew that this was either going to be a phenomenally stupid decision or a really good one. And fuck, Raleigh figured, after you dropped a nuclear payload into another dimension or whatever that place was you probably got a pass on not taking the time to figure out which one.

Getting to Chuck was a little awkward. Raleigh balanced an arm on the railing of the bed. He grazed Chuck’s lips, first, and he kept his eyes closed because he knew Chuck’s would be open and that Chuck would probably be offended. Except Chuck didn’t offer any resistance - he can’t, Raleigh had to remind himself, and he really, really should have thought of that before making his move.

Chuck kissed back. The hand that could move clutched Raleigh’s upper arm. Chuck lifted his neck slightly to better meet the kiss, and he pressed his lips into Raleigh’s. He was a little insistent and there was a small, soft moan that issued from somewhere - Raleigh had no idea Chuck was capable of something like that.

OK, Raleigh thought, and grinned as they continued to kiss.

It probably would have gone on for a lot longer if it weren’t for Signe coming in. “Get off of him, Becket. Who knows what’s in your mouth.”

Raleigh pulled back, eyes wide, and Chuck just grinned at the doctor - until he saw her reach into a drawer and pull another I.V. bag out. “Aw, come on!” he said.

“No touching until that skin is healed,” she said. “I really thought...” She shook her head at Raleigh, like he was a kindergartner who hadn’t followed the rules. She quickly hooked up what had to be more antibiotics to the stream of things getting pumped into Chuck. “Honestly,” she said, then walked out. Before she closed the door, she said, “Absolutely no touching!”

Raleigh looked at Chuck, who drew his lips to the side and raised his eyebrows. After what felt like eternity, he said, “So. You did that.”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “You kind of did too.”

“Yeah,” Chuck said. He glanced at the small stuffed Max. “Huh.”

“Huh?”

“Figured you wouldn’t want...” he glanced down at his chest, basically a topographical map, and shrugged.

“Shut up, Hansen,” Raleigh said. “You want me to put on a movie?”

“Yeah, OK,” Chuck said. “So you’re just gonna wait, then?” He glanced down at his skin again.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said.

“OK,” Chuck replied.

* * *

 

Chuck was released four days later. Tendo waited in the hall with Max. “I don’t know if this will repair our relationship or it will just confirm what he suspected all along,” he said to Mako.

“He is a dog,” Mako said. It was easy enough for her to say - Max liked her. She bent down and gently rubbed his head, then smiled when the door opened to Chuck’s room opened.

Chuck had a cane in his hands, presumably to help his balance as his ribs repaired. Max ran at Chuck - the fastest Tendo had ever seen the dog move - then jumped in the air and hit his thigh. Raleigh bent down and picked him up. Chuck leaned into Max’s face and smiled, then rubbed his ears. Max sighed in contentment. It was like a dog orgasm. “There’s my boy,” Chuck said. “I missed you, buddy.” Max’s tongue dangled out of the corner of his mouth.

“There’s a box of Tim Tams and some other things, if one of you doesn’t mind..?” Raleigh said. Mako went into the room, and Tendo watched as Chuck buried his face into Max’s. Raleigh’s face was awfully close to Chuck’s. Max licked at Raleigh, too, even though Raleigh hadn’t spent much time with the dog. What had he said, he didn’t dog?

“I see you have eaten all of the Hob Nobs,” Mako said, emerging with Chuck’s box.

“Doesn’t rate,” Chuck said. “I have five fucking boxes of Tim Tams.” Mako just smiled at him, then smiled at Tendo.

Raleigh carried Max as they walked to Chuck’s room, a slow processional. He handed him back over to Tendo when they made it to the corridor. Raleigh slung an arm around Chuck and helped him up the step into the room. They’d kissed, Tendo realized. Probably, most likely, only just kissed. Dr. Lauritsen and her nurses were quite vigilant about people who tried to fuck in the hospital beds.

“You’d think dad woulda got it cleaned up,” Chuck said.

“Dad’s been pretty busy,” Herc said - man was an expert lurker - and he stepped into the room and smiled at Chuck. Chuck turned his head and smiled. The hair hadn’t grown back, and in its place was mottled pink skin.

Chuck wrapped Herc into a hug - and Tendo knew he wasn’t the only person in the room whose eyebrows raised. The Hansen’s almost never touched, and Chuck certainly never initiated that contact. Herc seemed just as confused, for a second, then he carefully put his arms around Chuck. He whispered something, and Chuck replied.

“I should get dressed,” Chuck said.

“Maybe Raleigh can help you,” Herc said, and he shot Raleigh a look that was hard to classify - but it was how Tendo imagined Herc had stared down his first Kaiju in the Aussie Mach I. Then Herc smiled.

Well, shit, Tendo thought.

“Sure,” Raleigh said. Tendo set Max down, and he immediately jumped onto Raleigh’s bed and thumped his tail.

“He doesn’t have accidents in your room, does he?” Tendo asked.

“Fuck no,” Chuck said, and looked offended that Tendo even asked. “He’s got a spot to go in the bathroom. He’s trained well.” Chuck sat slowly down on the bed and rubbed Max behind the ears.

“So that’s what the putting green is for,” Raleigh said.

“It’s a deluxe dog piddle pad,” Herc said. He rolled his eyes.

“Can’t take him outside all the time,” Chuck said.

“I know,” Herc said, and held up his hands. “We’ve discussed it.”

“Would anyone care for a Tim Tam?” Mako asked. God, Tendo loved her. Liked her. No, Tendo corrected, he loved her. He’d loved her ever since he caught her in the Kwoon combat room one day and realized that she wasn’t shy, or stuck up, she was just holding back her passion for a reason.

“Everyone’s getting a welcome out of medical thing ready for you,” Herc said. “In the bar.”

“There’s a bar?” Chuck asked. He turned towards Raleigh. “I told you everyone was drinking booze.”

“Yeah, I told you about it,” Raleigh said, taking a few Tim Tams from the box Mako offered. “Where one of the Horizon Braves used to be. Everyone just brought their booze down. And spare couches.”

“You feel up to it?” Herc asked.

“I’ve done nothing but lay on my ass for weeks,” Chuck replied.

“That is the concern,” Mako said.

“Yeah, I told Talya and Newt to get a chair,” Tendo said.

“Newt said they were going to grab Vanessa’s birthing chair,” Raleigh added, grinning.

Chuck narrowed his eyes at him. “Fuck off,” he said. Then his face softened. “She pop the kid out?”

“No, you’re safe, they’re using the chair right now,” Raleigh said. “Been two hours already.”

Chuck nodded, but he had a look on his face that Tendo couldn’t quite place. “Do you want to get changed, Chuck?” Mako asked. Chuck looked down at the scrubs he was wearing and nodded. “We will give you your privacy.”

Tendo walked out of the room with her, and then Herc followed them a moment later.

“He better not fuck with my kid,” Herc mumbled, and he leaned against the wall and narrowed his eyes. Tendo resisted the urge to point out that Raleigh’s intentions were to most certainly fuck with his kid.

“With all due respect, Marshall,” said Mako, and sometimes Tendo had to really wonder if she was screwing around with them, “I can say the same for my co-pilot. Perhaps more so.” Mako narrowed her eyes as well, and Herc broke from his threatening look and laughed. When he stopped, they heard Chuck yelling inside. Tendo frowned - what could they be fighting about already?

The door swung open a bit and Raleigh stuck his head out. “Hey, Herc, you got any long sleeve shirts?”

Herc looked confused for a moment, and then nodded. He got one from his room across the hall and passed it over to Raleigh. Then he sighed.

“He was never vain,” Herc said.

“Which is definitely why he only wore those tight, short-sleeved shirts,” Tendo said, because he couldn’t help it. Herc inhaled, then shook his head.

Mako and Tendo went ahead to make sure everything was ready downstairs. Newt was standing at the front of the bar, texting rapidly, while Talya drank something and laughed. “I really think, you know, given our close relationship, Newton is the perfect name, maybe Newtonia-” Newt began, when he saw Tendo, and it took Tendo a moment to realize he was just narrating his texts.

“Stop being like that to him while his wife is in labor,” Talya said, smacking him lightly on the back of his head. Tendo grinned. Those two kids just might make it.

“Man, I bet he is shitting himself! Hey, Mako, Tendo, where’s the guest of honor?” Mako looked over at Tendo, as though he were responsible for Newt - if anyone were responsible for Newt, it would be her late father. He was the one who kept funding him and told him how to get back alley kaiju parts.

“He is coming,” Mako said. “He is nervous.” Newt cocked his head and took a sip of his beer.

“He’s a little self conscious about how he looks,” Tendo said. It could have been a lot worse - he still had his pretty face - but Tendo understood. He was young. Not to mention, a lot of shit had happened in a short amount of time, and the physical change was probably the easiest thing to focus on.

“Right,” said Newt. “Huh.”

“No more tickets to the gun show,” Talya said, with a sigh. “What? This is what the women say, about his shirts.” She looked over Tendo’s shoulder, and so Tendo turned, and there was Chuck. He emerged from around the corner, careful and walking on his own with the cane. Herc had Max on a tight leash, and the dog was waddling happily with his tongue out to the side. Chuck was sort of drowning in Herc’s shirt - Tendo had never really noticed that Herc was a good three inches taller than him, plus Chuck really had lost a lot of weight. It was only apparent now that he was standing up and wasn’t wearing the shapeless scrubs.

As soon as everyone saw him, they began to applaud. Chuck ducked his head a little, and Tendo saw Raleigh put a hand on the small of his back for just a brief moment before Chuck continued his slow walk towards the bar - Herc on one side, Raleigh on the other. It was strange that he seemed bashful, now. Tendo remembered watching him on television, especially after Striker took down Mutavore.

“Fuck, look at this,” Chuck said, as the party-goers drew in close to him. The Aussie crew was given a wide berth to get to Chuck, and one of them leaned in and looked at Chuck.

“You hit your head pretty hard?” one asked. “Should be making a crack about putting a bar here is a better use of space than a Horizon Brave, or something.”

“Yeah,” Chuck said. “Ha ha.” Two or three bottles of champagne cracked open almost simultaneously.

“One glass,” said Herc.

“Yes, da-ad,” Chuck said, drawing it out to two syllables. Herc handed him a glass in a plastic cup. Chuck waited to raise his glass until just about everyone had one.

“To cancelling the apocalypse,” someone said, and most people repeated it. Tendo glanced over at Mako, who looked down at the floor for a moment and seemed to mutter something else before she took a sip of her champagne. Tendo waited until she was done and turned and kissed her on the lips. When he pulled away, Mako smiled at him and then nodded gently.

Newt glanced back down at his phone and shook his head. Tendo just hoped that someone had saved a few bottles of champagne.

Herc stood by Chuck the entire night, like he was afraid to let him out of his sight - and no one was going to fault him for that. Tendo startled slightly when he felt a hand on his upper-arm. “Signe,” he said. “Nice to see you out of the medical bay.”

“Yes, well, turns out I do not know anything about birthing babies,” she replied. Tendo nodded at her. “No? Well. Look, can you distract Herc for a moment for me? I wasn’t able to give some discharge instructions earlier.”

“I don’t want to know, do I?” Tendo asked. She shook her head, and then smiled.

Tendo really wasn’t sure how to go about it, but it turned out he didn’t need to do anything at all. “Hey!” Newt shouted, and, when only a few people turned, he got on top of a table and waved his phone. “Hey! Hey! We got a baby.”

Tendo was pretty sure, amongst a chorus of what’s the name? and what is it? an Aussie shouted slash or stub? Bless them, Tendo thought. Bless their whole damn country.

“Hold on!” Newt said, and then he curled his lip and shook his head. “Oh, Hermann, you would do something like that-”

“What is it?” one of the Australians prodded.

“Girl,” said Newton. “And the jackass named her Sigfrieda.” It took the wind out of most of the celebratory whoops, certainly. “Who does that to their kid?”

“Who names kid Newton?” one of the Russians shouted, and everyone laughed.

“It’s a fucking family name!” Newt said, and Talya held her hand to him so he could step down from the table. Another bottle of champagne popped, and Tendo took the opportunity to bring Herc a beer as Signe moved over to Chuck. She leaned in and whispered something in his ear. Chuck turned a little pink, swallowed, then nodded.

“What the hell kind of a name is that?” Herc asked, as Newt came over to them.

“Apparently,” Newt said, glancing down at his phone - likely his first response to Hermann was something along the lines of what Herc said, “apparently it means victorious peace. <i>But still!</i> He could have just named the poor thing Victoria Peace, if that was what he was going for. Christ.”

“I like it,” said Mako. “We will call her Sigga. It is like your name,” she nodded at Dr. Lauritsen.

“Mine’s better,” Lauritsen said, and arched her eyebrow.

* * *

 

“What did she say to you, earlier?” Raleigh asked, a few hours into the party. Everyone had settled down on the couches, chairs, and makeshift seating pieces that had been dragged down and put in the old Jaeger bay. Raleigh perched on top of Chuck’s chair - someone had helpfully labelled it by taping a very bad drawing of Striker Eureka’s logo to it.

“Who?” Chuck asked. He was a little drunk, and Raleigh was definitely more drunk. He wanted to muss Chuck’s hair and kiss his forehead. He wanted to touch him. Have some decorum, Yancy said. Yes, whatever, Raleigh agreed.

“Signe,” Raleigh said.

“You’re on a first name basis with my doctor?” Chuck asked.

“Yes. What did she say?”

“Well,” Chuck said, and he turned an appealing, slight shade of pink. “She had some discharge instructions she couldn’t give me in front of my dad.” Raleigh grinned.

“Told you what happened when a Jaeger pilot likes another Jaeger pilot?”

“Reminded me that even if I’m not in danger of infection...shouldn’t move around, uh, at all, with my ribs. Liver. I don’t have a spleen.” He grimaced, this time.

“I figured that,” Raleigh said.

“I figured I finally get some actual skin again, and-” He looked at Raleigh and smiled slightly.

“You know, you don’t have to move for that,” Raleigh said.

“What? Huh?” Chuck asked. “How do you..?” He looked really sweet, so Raleigh just let him ponder it. On the other hand, he thought - oh, man, he was being serious what he said he lacked experience. The best course of action, it seemed, was to lean down and quickly kiss the top of his head. Raleigh made eye contact with one of the Aussies, who gave him a thumbs up. “You don’t mind that I did that?”

“No,” Chuck said. “Why would I?”

Raleigh wondered, for a moment, if Chuck really might have suffered some permanent brain damage - oxygen deprivation, radiation exposure. Or maybe not having the fate of the world on his shoulders made a significant difference in terms of his outlook.

* * *

 

“You’re drunk,” Chuck said, after Raleigh kissed him in the doorway of his room.

“You’re drunk and high on painkillers,” Raleigh replied. “Oh, hey-”

Chuck turned around as Raleigh leaned in the doorway. Someone had moved one of the small double beds into Chuck’s room to replace the standard single. Raleigh was willing to bet it was Tendo - he hoped it was Tendo. He wasn’t shy about things, but...

“Nice,” Chuck said. “Been complaining about that for years. We’re fucking adults.” Sort of, Raleigh thought. He couldn’t help but think back to the bunks he and Yancy had shared at the Shatterdome. When Yancy had made the same objection Pentecost had pointed out that, if the Becket brothers were in college like others their age, they’d most certainly be in bunk beds in some fraternity house.

Raleigh leaned in the doorway and watched while Chuck winced and and slowly removed the long sleeved shirt. Raleigh did his best not to stare, but it was hard - the mesh of the drive suit had been seared into parts of his back, in others, where the burns had been deeper, the skin was mottled and criss-crossed with spider web like designs. In other areas there were round pits and in other areas rough, raised scar tissue. All of it was still fresh and raw looking even though it had begun the long process of healing.

Chuck met his gaze regardless, and then looked down. Raleigh shook his head and moved closer - slowly, since really all they’d had between them was a few kisses. He saw Chuck tense and so he stood behind him and waited, then put his hands on Chuck’s shoulders. He relaxed slightly, and Raleigh rubbed, wanting to sink his thumbs and fingers in and give Chuck a proper massage. Instead, he circled them over his skin and then leaned in and kissed the back of his neck.

“Still drunk,” Chuck said, though there was a little more affection in his voice. “M’going to bed.”

“OK,” Raleigh said. Chuck carefully took his pants off and then got into the bed, laying on his back and groaning.

It had been a long time since Raleigh had shared a bed with someone. Just as he was about to get in, Chuck snapped his fingers and Max jumped in and curled right into the side of Chuck’s chest. He looked up at Raleigh and thumped his tail. “You sleep with him?”

“Some nights,” Chuck said, like this was a perfectly natural thing to do with a dog. “Some nights he sleeps with dad.” Raleigh immediately thought of Max staring at them, thumping his tail with his tongue out while they were fucking together. “Probably ‘cause it’s my first night back.”

“Right,” Raleigh said.

“Fuck’s sake, Becket, you going to be a whiny bastard or you going to get in the bed?” Chuck asked.

Oh, Raleigh thought, this could be good. Later, it could be good. He could feel Yancy poking at him, reminding him of something - fuck, he would have been right there throwing punches at Chuck. Raleigh sighed. He couldn’t always live two lives.

He climbed into the bed and slotted himself behind Chuck, laying on his side. He carefully draped an arm around him.

“About time,” Chuck said.

“It took me maybe twenty seconds,” Raleigh replied.

“Go to sleep, Becket,” Chuck said, and Max issued a loud snoring sound.

* * *

 

For the first time in a very, very long time - possibly even before the kaiju first erupted from the Breach - Raleigh was allowed to sleep in and able to take advantage of it. Before, when he and Yancy had been off duty, he had still always woken early, never really getting a full, relaxing eight hours because he was afraid that he would miss something. It was sort of like the night before a big test, when you were convinced your alarm wouldn’t go off in time. After Yancy, there were worse mornings when he would wake, cold and sweating, in a state of mild distress that could quickly escalate towards panic.

Raleigh sort of marveled at how well he had slept, especially considering he woke with Max sprawled out over his chest and stomach.

It seemed that all he needed was a world where there were no kaiju but he was still sleeping in a Shatterdome - potentially with another person and his loyal bulldog in bed with him. Not that he was so naive as to think that this was all he needed. But it at least seemed to be a step in the right direction.

“Traitor,” said Chuck, rolling over to face Raleigh. “Go see grandpa, he’ll let you out.”

Raleigh was impressed - but, then again, why wouldn’t Chuck have an incredibly well trained dog? - as Max hopped off Raleigh, hopped off the bed, and then nosed Chuck’s door open and hopped down into the hallway. “By out you mean into the bathroom, right?” Raleigh got up and closed the door.

“Yes, Rawl-lee,” Chuck said. “On his grass pad. Or maybe he’ll just go shit in Tendo’s room. I don’t care.”

Raleigh grinned at this, then leaned in and kissed Chuck as he got back in bed. Chuck responded, his own kiss soft and careful, and Raleigh once again wondered how much experience he actually had - then Chuck pressed a little harder and opened Raleigh’s mouth up, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Chuck-”

“I’ve been with girls,” Chuck said, a little unsure. “Well...”

“Sure,” Raleigh said, not wanting to probe. What difference did it really make? “Not that much different.”

“No, it’s perfectly the same fucking thing,” Chuck said, and rolled his eyes.

“Anything that’s different you just, like, do what you want to do to your own dick,” Raleigh said.

“Wow,” said Chuck. “I can see where you got your reputation from.”

Raleigh furrowed his brow. “I didn’t have a reputation.”

“OK,” Chuck said. Raleigh didn’t want to talk about this any more - because, really, it hadn’t been that many guys, it just got conflated because he was a Jaeger pilot - so he kissed Chuck, this time a little harder. Chuck made a soft sound into the kiss, and Raleigh pressed further, opened his mouth and worked his tongue in and against Chuck’s. “OK,” Chuck said.

“You just lay still,” Raleigh said. “I’m not going to have to take you back to the infirmary for...” It was probably good, in a way. They wouldn’t have to have that initial negotiation over who was in charge. Raleigh had an idea how that would go, and he grinned.

“OK,” Chuck said. Raleigh hoped he wasn’t too nervous. He maneuvered himself carefully so that he was straddling over Chuck’s hips and he spread his arms so they weren’t touching Chuck’s ribs. Then he leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

“OK? We don’t have to rush-” It was obligatory.

“If I could manhandle you and do this, Becket, I would,” Chuck said. Raleigh grinned.

Chuck kissed him for a long time. Their tongues worked against each other, and Raleigh shifted his weight at one point to see if he could get in closer to Chuck without hurting him. “Yeah,” Chuck said.

“You will tell me if I hurt-”

“Yes,” Chuck said, a touch exasperated, and so Raleigh kissed down some of the soft skin on his neck and into some of the scarred skin along his collarbone. Chuck inhaled and Raleigh murmured softly into the scars. He kissed down Chuck’s chest, flicked his tongue at his one remaining nipple - that was too bad, really - and then came to the surgical scar on his abdomen. Raleigh slowly kissed down it. Chuck squirmed, and Raleigh pinned him a bit, pulling his legs closer around Chuck’s hips. He stopped at Chuck’s navel, kissed alongside it, then pulled back and slid further down Chuck’s legs..

He met Chuck’s eyes. His mouth was open and his jaw was working in circles -anticipation, Raleigh realized, and he licked his lower lip. Raleigh accepted this challenge, and he ran his hands into the soft hair around Chuck’s cock and then massaged at the insides of his thighs, careful of the still healing skin inside the left. “Fuck, Rawl-lee,” Chuck said, and he grinned.

“Mmm?” Raleigh said, and he put his lips against the skin right beneath Chuck’s navel again.

“Raleigh,” Chuck said, pronouncing it slowly and correctly.

Raleigh kissed the head of Chuck’s cock, then slipped his foreskin back. Chuck inhaled, then groaned. Raleigh kissed along the ridge where the head of his cock met the shaft, and Chuck shuddered. Raleigh licked around it next, and grinned at the sound Chuck made - it didn’t seem to take much to make him come undone. He pressed the flat of his tongue to the head. “Oh, God,” Chuck said. Raleigh took down the tip, worked his lips up and down it, then sucked on it. Chuck wrapped his fingers in Raleigh’s hair and Raleigh moved slowly, inch by inch, as Chuck made various sounds. Raleigh catalogued each for later. He wanted to explore Chuck for significant amounts of time - what else did they have to do?

He was careful, and slow, not wanting it to end - he wanted Chuck to keep squirming, to keep making low, growling noises, to feel the soft skin of his cock in his mouth. Raleigh wanted to savor the weight of Chuck’s cock in his mouth and the feeling of Chuck’s fingers in his hair and against his scalp.

When Chuck’s moans increased, when he could feel his pulse quicken, Raleigh pulled back and away. “Raleigh?” Chuck asked, and for a moment it was sad - it was like Chuck was asking him if he had done something wrong.

“Should have thought ahead,” Raleigh said, then had to lean down and get the pair of pants he had shucked off the night before. He reached into the pocket and searched for the packets of lube he brought along.

“Ah,” Chuck said, as Raleigh opened the first one with his teeth.

Raleigh spread his legs wide around Chuck, then bent down over him again to get their cocks in line with each other. He flicked his hips against Chuck’s, then circled them, to show him what to do. He took Chuck’s hands and guided it to both their cocks. “Oh,” Chuck said. Raleigh spread some lube over Chuck’s hand, and Chuck wrapped it around both of them.  
  
“Oh,” Chuck said, stroking gently. Raleigh lubed his fingers and began to open himself. Chuck was going to be a bit to take, but he worked fast - the double stimulation was almost too much for him.

“What are you-?”

You’d think he would have looked on Google or something, Raleigh thought, and then, no, this was Chuck Hansen. He’d just think he’d naturally be great at it. “Getting ready,” Raleigh said, then leaned down and kissed his lips. Chuck reached his free hand back. He skimmed Raleigh’s wrist, and his eyes went wide. “What?” Raleigh asked.

“Dunno, just...we can do that, if I can’..t?”

“Ah,” Raleigh said, separating his fingers to stretch himself. “Mmmhmm.” More like we’ll see, but Raleigh was optimistic. Chuck nodded, eyes still a little wide, and Raleigh had to grin at him.

When he was ready, he pulled back and arranged some of the pillows behind Chuck. “That feel OK? You tell me if it hurts?” He took that moment to take all of Chuck in, the expectant and slightly nervous smile on his face, the hair sweaty and mussed against his forehead, his cock hard against his stomach. “So good, Chuck,” he said.

Chuck opened his mouth and Raleigh kissed him to quiet him. Chuck’s objection to that statement was a conversation for another time.

Raleigh spread his legs further, arching his back, and grabbed Chuck’s cock. He lined himself up and then rubbed Chuck’s cock in his crease. “Fuck, God,” Chuck said.

Raleigh grinned. “Wait,” he said, and took the tip inside of him. Chuck’s mouth opened and then closed, and Raleigh slid onto him in one controlled, slow motion.

“Holy fuck,” Chuck said, and Raleigh adjusted himself with Chuck deep inside of him. Chuck closed his eyes for a moment, winced, and then met Raleigh’s as Raleigh rolled his hips. “I’m OK.”

“OK,” Raleigh said. He leaned over and put more weight on his arms anyway - Chuck was stretching him, but it was good, just the amount he could take on. He moved up, and then down, slowly getting a rhythm without changing position. “You feel so good.” Rocking against him, he felt Chuck’s length go straight to his core.

“Fucking hell,” Chuck said, and Raleigh had to grin. Chuck was worrying his lower lip slightly. Raleigh leaned over and kissed him and the change in position made Chuck slide almost all the way out. He went back in as Raleigh straightened and his cock slid right against Raleigh’s prostate. It was a huge jolt of electricity, and Raleigh squirmed and circled just to decrease his sensitivity for a second.

“Yes,” Raleigh said, “Don’t move, let me-”

“Is that good? That’s right?” Chuck asked - and for a moment Raleigh saw him in training, saw him Drifting with Herc for the first time, an eager kid who wanted to be the best and prove that...no, he told himself. That was for later too.

“Perfect, just like that, Chuck,” Raleigh said, and he leaned down to kiss him again to repeat the deep penetration they managed before. Chuck sighed as he did this, and Raleigh straightened himself when Chuck was in him again. He was perfect, hitting all of Raleigh’s sensitive nerves and they were pinging right up his spine and right down to his cock. His orgasm began to build, he could feel it in his lower stomach and racing straight up his dick. “Chuck, touch me.”

“Yeah,” Chuck said. He reached a hand forward and stroked, gently, then increased his pace so that it matched how fast Raleigh was riding him. Chuck groaned, slightly, as Raleigh rocked harder. Then he shook his head.

“That’s it, that’s perfect,” Chuck said, and Raleigh arched his back and somehow managed to get more contact between Chuck’s cock and his prostate. “Fuck.” Chuck’s hand was covering him and it wasn’t going to be much longer. “More, please, more-” Chuck flicked his hips and Raleigh’s orgasm slammed into him. He coated Chuck’s hand, and as soon as he came, Chuck came inside of him.

“Fuck, fuck, yes,” Chuck said. Raleigh wanted to collapse on top of him, wanted to wrap himself all over Chuck, but instead he rolled off of him and over to the side so he could brush some of his hair off of his head. He kissed his forehead. “Jesus, Raleigh.”

“That was OK?” Raleigh asked.

“Yeah,” Chuck said. “Yeah, more than.”

“Good,” Raleigh said.

* * *

 

Raleigh cleaned Chuck with a washcloth, then took a shower of his own. Chuck was sprawled on the bed when he came back, a lazy grin on his face - but his hands were tracing the scar on his abdomen, inspecting the texture of his skin.

“It’s like a fucking salt map,” he said. “You do those in school?”

Raleigh nodded, then closed his eyes for a moment - Yancy had helped him with his, of course, their mom had been sick then and their dad at the hospital. Any color you like, kid, he said, even though Raleigh protested because his teacher specified in their assignment they were to use greens and blues. He’d gone with purple and blue, eventually, with darker colors for the mountains.

“Raleigh?”

“Sorry, I-” He swallowed.

Chuck moved to sit up and winced, then issued a loud hiss. Raleigh went and sat next to him, the towel falling off his waist. “Sorry,” Chuck said. “I didn’t-”

“Don’t apologize,” Raleigh said. “You’ll have to get used to it. Happens a lot.” He hadn’t been kidding when he had told Chuck his brain was fucked. Kid deserved full disclosure.

“OK,” Chuck said. His phone beeped, near the bed, and he leaned and picked it up. “You want to see the sprog?”

“What?”

“Baby,” Chuck said. “You want to see the baby?”

“Oh, shit, right,” Raleigh said. Chuck grinned at him.

“Raleigh,” he said, as Raleigh stood. “I get it. Kind of. I can imagine it, maybe.” Raleigh nodded and picked up his pants.

Hermann and Vanessa were still in medical, and Chuck frowned slightly when they approached the corridor. He had tried to walk without the cane but was still unsteady, the ribs on his right side had taken more of a blow than the ones on his left. Raleigh opened the door and held it for him.

He smiled as he took in the scene over Chuck’s shoulder. This was how these things were supposed to end, right? You saved the world, and someone had a baby, and everyone’s hope in the future was restored.

Hermann sat in a rocking chair with the baby curled against his chest, swaddled in a light yellow cloth. Newt sat in a chair across from Hermann. Vanessa was in the bed, smiling. Raleigh felt awkward for a moment - it was the first time he’d met her. “Hello,” he said. Vanessa gave him a tired smile.

Newt was staring at the baby in a way Raleigh imagined he’d stared at kaiju bits before - with wonder and fear. “Oh, hey, look, baby,” Newt said, turning, “It’s Uncle Chuck and Uncle Raleigh - note, Hermann, that those are two acceptable names for a child. They saved the world. They’re kind of a big deal.”

“You did too,” Raleigh said.

“I don’t think you should mock the kid’s name in front of the mother,” Chuck said, leaning on his cane.

“It was Hermann’s idea,” Vanessa said.

“For everyone,” Hermann said, holding the child a little closer to his chest, like Newt was going to take her away and make a mess of the swaddling. Raleigh arched an eyebrow. “To many people to name her after.” He shrugged his shoulders, trying to mitigate what he was saying. Raleigh glanced over at Chuck, who looked down for a moment.

“I think you can let me hold her,” Newt said.

“You don’t even know how,” Hermann countered.

“Neither did you, until you made that one,” Newt said, and pointed at the baby. Vanessa laughed.

Raleigh glanced over at Chuck, who gave him a soft smile.


End file.
